If you don't eat 'five-a-day' - why not?

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I'm doing a bit of work at the moment in public health and understanding the barriers to uptake of fruit & veg.

I have my own research & theories, but I'd be interested in views and perspectives.

The reality is that we should actually eat closer to nine-a-day, but the five-a-day message was felt to be more achieveable.
Also people in the UK tend to eat more fruit than veg, which can also cause some problems (fruit sugar, teeth etc)

I think most people would now know about the benefits of fruit & veg?
So, if you're not getting 5 a day, what are your reasons?

Because unless we have a traditional dinner i.e Meat and Veg then I find it hard to add veg to other meals - I assume this is because we were brought up on meat and veg and nothing else really.

Just wondering... does the 5-a-day thing mean 5 portions of raw fruit or veg? Or does cooked count too?

ds probably eats more than 5 a day,whereas I eat much less - am not sue why that is..

Because it's too much food. I feel I eat a good diet, I exercise lots and have plenty of energy. I rarely get sick and feel that what I eat suits me and my body even if I don't eat 5 a day.

The British diet is based on protein and carbohydrates with veg as an extra.

EVERYTHING counts pussy.

Raw, frozen, (some?)tinned, fresh, cooked.

As a general rule though the more things are (over)cooked the poorer their nutritional content.

Fruit juice 'counts' as one portion too - but you can only 'count' one glass a day i.e. you can't drink a gallon of Ornage Juice and say, 'OK I don't need any other fruit or veg...'

A 'portion', for simplicity is usually defined as a 'good fistful' I think (so kids' 'fist'/portion is smaller)

i don't understand why you can't count a gallon of orange juice as your full quota? why not?

I think it's more the idea to have 5 different bits of fruit and veg for their different vitamin and mineral benefits

So my slow-cooked casserole packed full of veg wouldn't be worth much then?

I think it's because some of the benefits of fruit & veg are associated with the fibre content, and some with the vitamins? Juice would have vitamins, but not fibre.

Similarly, the ideal is to have a mixture of different fruit & veg for maximum benefits.

Because unless you eat fruit for breakfast, it's quite difficult to fit it in! I usually manage 4 I think - 1 carrot & 1 apple with lunch, then two servings of veg with dinner (remembering that potatoes don't count) - and even that is sometimes only one if I am not feeling inspired. We don't have pudding in the week, mind you, we do have fruit juice - does that count?

Pussy - good question! I think it's over-boiled veg, where the vitamins go into the water and get poured away? A casserole would presumably retain them, so would be good (as is soup).

Sorry, cross posted. You've already said that it does count! So maybe I'm okay then?!

It is very expensive to buy all that fresh fruit and veg. And it all needs cooking and or preparing which takes too much time for most people. It also makes the kitchen messy and is hard to do for one persons meal at a time if the family don't eat together.

I try and eat British fruit and veg only, so find it a bit hard sometimes of the year. I dont really eat fruit, or drink fruit juice, as I dont snack or eat pudding I think I do manage 5 portions a day, cooked toms with my fried breakfast, salad for lunch, and usually 2 veg with dinner.

Having said that, I'm sceptical we really need that much fruit/veg in our diets. And the fact potatoes dont count towards 5-a-day, makes me very cynical about the advice, as they are clearly a good source of vit C etc, even if they are carby.

SEA it's because 5 a day isn't jsut about vitamins & minerals, it's about fibre as well. Obv you get the vits & mins from juice, but not the fibre. Also you need to eat a variety of f&v to get all the possible benefits. A general rule is to have as many different colours as possible to get as many different nutrients as possible.

I eat more than 5 a day, find it quite easy really.

Dried fruit on cereal

An apple for a snack

Plenty of salad on a sandwich

Fruit salad for a snack/dessert

Three portions with tea, whether it be boiled/steamed veg or tomato, onion & beans in a chilli

Although I shouldn't really preach as I eat too much of the bad stuff as well as plenty of the good.

It doesn't have to be fresh or expensive

Frozen veg is cheap and just as good

Peas are a staple in our house

I am shocked to hear it should be nine- as much as i try to eat a varied and balanced diet in general terms i personally feel it is not achieveable daily as other priorities come higher in my life that constantly thanking about nutrition. Not having time to pack a lunch means i will grab a pasty at my desk to tide me over till my next real meal iyswim. I cant be doing with always counting F&V portions, looking at calories, fat gramms, salt, additives etc. but think i do look at these things often enough to be happy with my own way of eating.

Because I feel it's unhealthy to quantify food in any way - weight, units, calories, etc.

I just eat what I fancy and enjoy and it all works out.

I'm vegetarian and probably do manage five-a-day, mainly because pulses, lentils, beans, etc all count too. But only just, so I can easily see why people who aren't vegetarian don't manage it. I have fruit juice with my breakfast, a couple of veg/pulses as part of lunch and a couple as part of tea.

Like Hanaflower says, its easy to seem as though you're having a 'healthy' diet without fruit and vegetables.