5 a day? Now experts say 3!

THE five-a-day target for fruit and vegetables should be scrapped, with people instead encouraged to eat three larger portions, a major study suggests.

Researchers said eating a 125g portion three times a day was no less healthy than eating the five 80g portions recommended by the NHS. And as three-quarters of Britons fail to eat their five a day, the three-a-day target may be more realistic.

The Canadian-led study of 135,000 people around the world reported in Lancet that people who ate three servings a day were 22 per cent less likely to die during the study period than those who ate less than one. The researchers say variety is not important, but the total amount you eat is.

They said fewer but bigger portions might be more achievable.

Researcher Dr Andrew Mente told the European Society of Cardiology congress: ‘Around three to four servings was the amount associated with the maximum benefit.

‘Beyond this, the risk of mortality remains constant.’