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?

I have IBS and have been advised not to eat 5 a day. That much fibre keeps me on the loo all day . Still healthy though, have some fruit and veg, don't eat crap and do take my vits. TBH I feel healthier than when I was filling myself up with fruit.

My children do, I always cook them proper meals.

I'm a vegetarian and don't like a lot of fruit but a fair few veg, I hate salad. I really am too tired half the time to cook for myself and I don't like to eat meals, I mostly eat a sandwich, crackers, soup, that sort of thing and will occasionally have, say, a baked potato with carrots, brocolli, sweetcorn, cauliflower, beans, cheese and veggie sausages but I don't in the portions recommended.

For me it is just too much to eat.

TMI

If I eat raw/lightly cooked fruit & veg it comes out fairly similar to the way it goes in as I have IBS - not really into that tbh

So I only eat a little

My children eat small amounts of between 9 & 12 varieties

4 per day easy if include juice, 5 just that bit trickier

I only go shopping once a week - buy loads of fresh stuff so we all have loads for about 3-4 days, then less for remainder of week.

I personally am not a big fruit and veg fan.

I try and get the kids to eat fruit and veg..but its def. not 5 a day, not by a long shot.

I don't like much of the fruit that is available during the winter/spring months so I tend to eat more fruit during the summer.

Tbh apples, bananas and oranges bore me rigid.

The same applies to veg I suppose - we eat more salad type veg during the summer months.

I know I'm being lazy and should really look at what's in season but for example a punnet of blackberries in season costs a fortune in shops. When I was a child we could just go down the road and pick a whole load of them. I've only recently found out where in London I can do this (and it's a car drive/bus journey away).

Right, will read the thread now!

I think people don't manage it because it involves a change to their eating habits. For example, if you normally eat cereal and toast for breakfast then you have to add in something extra.

And similarly with lunch. A sandwich is probably without a portion of fruit and veg. So you have to switch to salad. And evenings, many people collapse with a bowl of soup or some scrambled egg on toast. You have to change what and how you eat if you are not doing it already.

huh? juice with breakfast, dried fruit such as raisins as snacks, sandwich with lettuce & tomato, how hard is it really?

Is the amount of salad that you can fit in a sandwich a portion? If so, then I see your point.

That sounds like about 2½ portions max. to me Miss Chief.

A portion of tomatoes is something like 7 cherry toms

In answer to OP, Because I eat what I want to eat.

I don't want to live my life ticking boxes every day.

i.e. Have I ha 5 fruit/veg? Tick
Have I had 3 cereals? tick

Also not 100% sure what is a portion for some stuf. I know that tinned veg say how much of a portion is in a tin etc. And I know that a portion of fresh stuff is a fistful of whatever (I think).

But when you cook a bolognese or something and chuck in a bit of this, a bit of that and then divide the whole thing between x people and the freezer. I know it is quiete easy to work out how many portins if you do the maths...but its is being bothered.

Oh and I don't like a broad range of fruit of veg, so it makes it hard to do 5 a day witout eating bananas all day - which again I think it has to be 5 duff fruit sanyway doesn't it?

it's not hard to hit 5 a day.
For example, my kids are really picky but for brekkie alongside what ever toast/cereal etc they have a sliced apple each and some rasps or strawberries.
Packed lunch has a banana or some dried fruit and a carton of juice with it
dinner has 2 or 3 veg with it.
et voila!

6 or 7....

I read this as
'if you don't eat 'five-a-day' - what?

Message withdrawn

To be pedantic, the post was asking people why don't they hit five a day? And I think that being busy and not near kitchens probably plays a part. or example, if you are out and about and hungry but minus that pre-pared lunch etc, that's when people eat something and chips.

I know my examples don't add up to 5 a day, I simply was trying to point out how easy it is to fit them into an existing diet - eg have the sandwich with the good portion of salad (not the ham & cheese toastie), have raisins for a snack not a biscuit etc etc, have the same breakfast but with juice. I think it's easy if you know what counts and you fit it around what you already have.

I probably hit about 4 a day - it was a lot more when I was working and having access to the work canteen with the salad bar/soups etc. At the moment I'm at home on ML so tend to miss breakfast as there is too much else going on although will sometimes grab a fruit juice (I know I know), lunch is soup or sandwich with a banana/apple if there are some, and supper is generally pasta or fish with several veg...

I don't eat pudding which makes it harder at tea time and it is slightly more difficult to buy it as DH won't eat much veg at all (and no fruit) and DD still has to have everything mashed up so by the time I have done her cooking I can't face starting again and thinking about what I want to eat.

I'm lazy. I could make excuses but that's what it boils down to. That and the fact I'd rather eat a biscuit than a banana.

Can't be arsed every day. I like carbs for breakfast and lunch, so have to squeeze in fruit as a snack which I don't always manage(not big on fruit, really). Always pack in the veg at dinner time, but still don't always manage five a day.

Some days I do, some days I don't. Some days I can have the whole 5 in one meal - if I do a veggie curry or pasta dish, for example. If I am having a non-casserole type of meal I am less likely to have lots of veg - just don't find a mound of steamed or boiled veg that appealing!

Yes, I can see what you were getting at MissChief.

And that's probably as much as many of us would have in a day.

On the occasional days that we don't it's because I am feeling too lazy/tired to prepare the kind of meals that have lots of veg or because I wasn't organised enough to have the right stuff in.

Another reason is because it's somebodys birthday or other celebration and we can't fit all that celebration food and fruit in our stomachs!

I imagine for most people it is for lack of money or lack of knowledge.