Is five-a-day enough?

Is five a day good enough for optimum health?

How much is enough?

How much fruit and veg is enough? Although the current government recommendations for fruit and vegetable servings sit at five servings daily, this is a minimum value. The reliance on processed food in our modern diet has led to a diet of convenience rather than good nutrition. Fruit and vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals, not only this but they are a great base of your diet for providing carbohydrates which give us the energy to move and be active.

What do vitamins and minerals do? Well, both are substances that cannot be manufactured by the body. Fundamentally the body cannot survive without them so it is prudent to make sure you are consuming the right amounts.

There are two types of vitamin, fat soluble (A, D, E and K) which are generally found in meat products, vegetable oils, dairy products and fish. They are stored in your liver and fatty tissues meaning we don’t necessarily need to consume them daily. Water soluble vitamins (B, C and folic acid) found in meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grains. They are transported around your body in water meaning your body cannot store them so they need to form part of your daily diet.

Minerals also play a major role in the maintenance of our body and they need to be consumed regularly for optimum health. There are two categories of mineral: major minerals (which we need more than 100g daily) and minor minerals (which we need less than 100g a day). The major minerals are magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. The minor minerals include chromium, copper, zinc, iron, iodine, magnesium, selenium and manganese. Chromium, copper, iodine, manganese and phosphorous are found in a wide variety of foods so deficiency is rare.

So how do you maintain a good vitamin and mineral status? The key is in dietary variation. Lean sources of protein, limited dairy products, oily fish and plenty of fruit and vegetables are the basis for a health conscious diet. Supplements can be a good way of upping your values but having a wide variety of foods is key to balancing your nutritional needs, which helps with all body processes including the maintenance of your heart and cardiovascular system.

Find out how to get your five-a-day without really realising.

Ian Mellis is Director of Performance at Results Fitness and Sports Training in Ware. To get in touch, contact Ian on (01920) 466456 or at ian@resultsfast.co.uk.