Ways to up vital fruit and veg intake on daily basis
Many people in the UK are eating
nowhere near the amount of fruit and veg that is recommended for optimum health, new research has shown.
A study to see just how much fruit and veg we’re currently consuming on a regular basis, and how much exercise we are undertaking, revealed that a quarter of Brits eat no fruit and veg at all on three or more days each week.
Alarmingly, half of Brits have eaten no fruit or veg on at least one day in the past week, while six per cent of men haven’t had any at all for over a week.
Added to this, half of Brits do no vigorous exercise at all.
A third of those surveyed admit that some weeks they spend more on takeaways than on their main weekly food shop, with that figure rising to 60 per cent for those aged under 35.
Around 35 per cent of people say they have eaten more unhealthy snacks during the past year of the pandemic, leading to unwanted weight gain for a third.
Welsh athlete Colin Jackson shares some simple tips for increasing the amount of fruit and veg you consume every day.
1 Add a vegetable to your brekkie, for example ‘green’ scrambled eggs with spinach or why not try adding some fruit to your cereal, low GI fruit like blueberries or raspberries are particularly good and tasty.
2 Having soup for lunch can be an easy way to add a couple of portions of vegetables to your daily intake. Pick something home-made or opt for fresh soup options from your local supermarket. With the weather improving, salads are a good way to fill up on healthy vegetables.
3 Smoothies can add one of your five a day, especially if there’s a mix of fruit and vegetables in the recipe. They provide vitamins as well as fibre.
4 It can be easy to snack on junk food while there’s a moment of boredom or craving, but snacking can be
healthy and delicious if you get prepared by buying in some carrot sticks and hummus or fry up some halloumi and apple slices.
5 If you always try to add at least one to two portions of veg to your dinner, you’ll soon be hitting that daily target, even if you feel it doesn’t necessarily go with your chosen dish. Veg will help fill you up, as well as adding vitamins and nutrients to your diet.
If you are getting a takeaway, have a handful of vegetable crudités while you wait for it to arrive, and then you can enjoy it knowing you’ve hit your five-a-day.
The research from healthy drinks brand innocent – which has launched a new range of smoothies, innocent super lights with 30 per cent less natural sugar – also found that Brits average just 52 minutes of ‘moderate exercise’ such as brisk walking,
per week. When it comes to vigorous exercise, half of Brits say they do none at all. Overall, Brits average around a third of the recommended minimum amount of exercise.
innocent’s UK Marketing Director Anna Bateson said: “To mark the launch of our new super light smoothies, we decided to look into the nation’s healthy eating and exercise habits. We suspected a health kick may be needed by many, but the amount of Brits that are not eating any fruit or veg at all some days is really surprising, and there is no doubt that regularly eating none will take its toll on people’s health.”
The research by innocent was released to coincide with the launch of their new super smoothie lights range, which include 30 per cent less sugar, and count as one of your five-a-day necessary fruit and vegetables intake.