Five-a-day

How much fruit and vegetables do you eat a day?  One piece?  The odd apple and some vegetables?  Only on  a sunday alongside roast beef, yorkshire puddings and gravy?  For a healthier lifestyle you should be eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day in order to reduce the risks of cancer and coronary heart disease and many other chronic diseases.

Surely it can't be too difficult to eat fruit and veg?  But on average, we only eat three of the recommended five portions a day.  Why?

The main barriers to eating more fruit and vegetables are:

• access and availability whether people have access to good quality, affordable fruit and vegetables locally
• attitudes and awareness awareness of the 5 A DAY message, and people's knowledge, attitudes, motivation and skills concerning buying, preparing and eating fruit and vegetables.

The aim of the 5-a-day programme is to address these problems by raising awareness of the health benefits and improving access to fruit and vegetables through targeted action.

So where do you start, and what exactly make up five portions?  To make it easier, the government has produced a range of leaflets and posters for you to download and keep. 

Downloads

• Download 5 A DAY poster (103k)
• Download 5 A DAY postcard (730k) 
• Download 5 A DAY leaflet (1413k) 
• Download 5 A DAY brochure (647k)
• 5 A DAY made easy: Just eat more (944k)