# Seven a day 'better than five' fruit and veg portions



## Bee (Apr 1, 2014)

Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day is healthier than the five currently recommended and would save more lives, researchers say. 
A study of 65,226 men and women indicated the more fruit and vegetables people ate, the less likely they were to die - at any age. 
"Seven a day" cut death risk by 42%, "five a day" by 29%, it indicated. 
But the government says its "five-a-day" advice is sufficient and that many of us struggle to achieve even this. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26818377


Will they ever get it right what we should and shouldn't be eating, in my opinion we should do what we are most comfortable with and forget all these surveys, next year another survey will come along and tell us something entirely different again.


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## Michael. (Apr 1, 2014)

Over here in the UK the cost of fruit and vegetables has rocketed and are beyond the reach many people on low incomes.

Our nearest Supermarket is Waitrose. Their prices tend to be slightly higher than other Supermarkets but the quality is top class..


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## Bee (Apr 1, 2014)

Morrisons is my nearest supermarket Michael and where I mainly shop, this last 2-3 weeks they have started to reduce a lot of goods including fruit and veg, this is because of their serious profit loss this last quarter and they realise they now have to compete with such as Aldi and Lidles.


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## Capt Lightning (Apr 1, 2014)

Bear in mind how all this 5-a-day originated.  As far as I can tell, it came from the fruit growers in California.  Seems that health professionals felt that a lack of fruit & veges might have been implicated in the rise of some cancers.  This coincided with a surplus of fruit - bingo - get people to eat more fruit.

As it happened, it had no effect on the incidence of cancer, but then somebody thought it might be beneficial in preventing heart disease.  How much? - 5-a-day seemed like a good guess!

I'm sick of all this 5 a day, fish twice a week, drink plenty of water, take statins, walk 20 minutes a day etc etc etc....

Eat a healthy balanced diet and stay fit.  Don't count!


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## Bee (Apr 1, 2014)

_*Eat a healthy balanced diet and stay fit.  Don't count!



*_I couldn't agree more Capt Lightning.


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## Pam (Apr 1, 2014)

Will eating 7 orange Jaffa cakes count?


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## Bee (Apr 1, 2014)

You could always substitute 2 Jaffa cakes for one slice of apple strudel and one slice of carrot cake.:grin:


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## SeaBreeze (Apr 1, 2014)

I think that eating fruits and vegetables is healthy for you, but it's hard to eat as much as they recommend unless you're a vegetarian to begin with and have veggies for every meal.  Fruits are very high in natural sugars, so people have to be really careful with fruits if they have or are prone to diabetes.  Even fruit juices that have no sugar added, will be chock full of natural fruit sugars.

Many health conscious folks like to make smoothies, which is fine.  But they don't realize that when they're thowing in pears, apples, strawberries, peaches, etc. in the blender, they are getting much more sugar from the concentrated blend that they're drinking...and they're not even aware of it.

I was a picky eater as a kid, and my mother was always angry with me because there were so many things I wouldn't eat or even taste.  Vegetables was one of them, and I ate little fruit.  I don't hate veggies anymore, but I don't love them either.  It's hard to fit in a lot of servings into daily meals, unless I'm having a big salad, which I do try to make every few weeks.  We'll have a salad for two days that week.

I also have been buying organic carrot juice and drinking that, so that helps.  I don't care for V-8 (canned vegetable juice) that much, and from the ingredients, it doesn't seem to be that healthy anyway.  I don't give much notice to what the government "recommends", many of the things they recommend to benefit particular corporate interests.  I think we are smart, and should make personal decisions on health related things that works for us individually.

I do like orange cake, carrot cake and apple streudel, LOL! layful: :apple:


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## Knightofalbion (Apr 1, 2014)

Very sensible advice, though with the economy as it is for so many families ... 

With the weather adversely effecting crop yields and thus increasing prices in the shops it is going to prove difficult for families to fulfill their daily quota even of 5 a day. 
Though maybe it might inspire some people to have a stab at growing their own....


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## Happyflowerlady (Apr 1, 2014)

From what I have read; the more of a persons food that is eaten in a raw, natural condition, the healthier that it is for you, and the more nutrients that our bodies can get from the foods.
Greens are very high in protein, plus many vitamins and minerals; so after many years of getting my protein mainly from meats; I am now eating greens several times a day. I put spinach in my green smoothies; and have fresh greens in salads with every meal. 
If I have an egg for breakfast, then I sauté either spinach or kale and some onion in the pan before adding the egg.

I agree that you can read articles both pro and con for about anything you might eat or drink; and it is sometimes hard to decide which one is right. 
I distill my own drinking water, and that way I know it is pure; but there are articles online saying that you lose minerals from distilling the water. Other contradictory articles say that you can't process the minerals anyway unless they come in plant form (greens again), and they are jut stuck in your body to clog up arteries, or simply washed out, since they can't be used in the form they come in water. 
It really does all come down to the fact that each person has to read, consider, and then make up their own mind what they want to consume as food.


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

HFL, I know your right about the fresh greens. I gardened most of my life. But now with IBS, I can't eat raw veggies without a lot of pain. The Dr. says to take a fiber substitute. YUCK!!


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## Happyflowerlady (Apr 1, 2014)

Ina said:


> HFL, I know your right about the fresh greens. I gardened most of my life. But now with IBS, I can't eat raw veggies without a lot of pain. The Dr. says to take a fiber substitute. YUCK!!


What about green smoothies ?? They are all blended, so easy to digest; and extremely healthy ?? 

There is a movie/documentary on Netflix, and I think on youtube, called something like  "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". and this guy saved not only his own life and health, but helped others. 
He did it with juicing and smoothies using lots of veggies. 
It is well worth watching.

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/watch-fat-sick-and-nearly-dead/


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

HFL, I've lost a little over 80 lbs. in the last year. In '08 l went from 140, up to over 210, because of diverticulitis surgery, several seizures, and I was told really bad thyroid levels. When they told me I was pre-diabetic, I said enough and started a 800 calorie diet. I'm now below 140, and I'm trying not to loose anymore. The IBS makes it hard. "Food" hurts me period. 

I never let my family have Ramen noodles, and now it's about all that doesn't hurt me. I would appreciate any ideas. :magnify:


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## Happyflowerlady (Apr 1, 2014)

Ina, I just looked up IBS/green smoothies on google, and there are some that are especially for people that have these health issues, and here is a page to start you out with. It has several recipes, and information on which veggies and fruit are ok to use when you have IBS.
Hopefully, this will be of help to you in your search for a way to eat the healthy food without hurting.

http://www.healthysmoothiehq.com/digestive-issues-smoothies-rescue


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

HFL, Thanks, I started looking a UTUBE video s just after you posted about them. But I'm just starting to use online anything, so I'll thankfully go to this site. Blessings on you.


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

HFL, I'm sending to the booklet, thank you again!!!


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## Denise1952 (Apr 1, 2014)

I am trying to get more fruit in my diet, but can't always afford a lot, or, it's out of season (my faves).  But I heard from a friend that canned fruit is not so bad for you if you rinse it in a colander.  Takes out a lot of the sugars, and preservatives she said.  So I am buying some canned fruits now, which I wouldn't ever imagine doing before.

Feedback welcome as I don't know how true this is.  Denise


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

Denise, I used canned fruit for years in the winter especially. My guys had to have their pies at least once a week. Depending on the last season's harvest is how much I was able to put up in jars. :star:


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## Denise1952 (Apr 1, 2014)

This is canned fruit from the market Ina.  So it wouldn't be as good as home-canned either.  Thank you though denise


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

Denise, I meant store bought canned, (in a can), it works when you don't have the other.  You can get them in heavy syrup, light syrup, or in water. I find them on sale in the spring, when they are pushing their fresh produce. We are living on a very limited incomes too, so we do as we can. (HUGS)


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## Denise1952 (Apr 1, 2014)

Ok Ina, I'm sorry I misunderstood.  I guess the bottom line is maybe canned, store-bought is better than no fruit at all.  I "feel" better having rinsed as much of the extra syrup/sugar off, just to lower calories.  Also, maybe remove some of the preservatives.

Denise  Hugs to you too, and yes, we just do the best we can.  I wish I could make good, pie crust.  I have a "never fail" recipe of my sister's that always fails for me.  Hers turns out wonderfully


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

:Lofl:  try a strudel. I like to crumble my pie crust  and mix it with the fruit recipe when I don't have the time to roll out a crust.


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## Denise1952 (Apr 1, 2014)

Ok, I can also do sort of an apple crisp thing with oatmeal.  I don't usually mess that up


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## Fern (Apr 1, 2014)

A friend of ours loved to eat lots of raw fruit during the day, he now has type 2 diabetes through too much sugar, (no sugar in tea or coffee etc.) so even having too much 'natural' sugar can cause you problems.


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## Warrigal (Apr 1, 2014)

Most nights we have an old fashioned dinner of meat and three or four vegetable servings which are usually boiled or steamed. If we have pasta, we usually has a side salad. Asian stir fries with noodles are another favourite and I throw any in vegetables available in the fridge.

Fruit is not a problem We have fresh fruit available all year round.

Are we super healthy? Not really, but I suppose things could be worse.


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## Bee (Apr 1, 2014)

I eat three healthy meals per day, in between I snack on..........................unhealthy stuff, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, I drink water from the tap, orange juice from cartons, coffee made with all skimmed milk and diet coke and oh! yes I have the blood pressure of an 18 year old............at 71 years of age I feel fit and healthy so I am not complaining.:coffeelaugh:


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## Ina (Apr 1, 2014)

Bee, My hubby, who is also 71, never even had a headache, until two years when overnight it seemed he took sick, and had to have surgery. He is back to himself now. So now I've heard of two people with great health. That makes you both rich.


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