You need five fruit and veg a day

The ancient Greeks opted for eight, but since the World Health Organisation recommended five a day in 1990, we have all been counting our greens, with varying success.

The number doesn’t really mean much, though, says Michael Sam-Yorke, a clinician and independent prescriber.

“The WHO has recommended that we eat 400g of fruit and veg a day, but for marketing purposes, it is a lot easier to say five fruit and vegetables than to say eat 400g.”

You don’t have to be a mathematician to know that if you divide that figure into individual 80g servings, you end up with five a day.

It’s not an exact science, clearly. A 2017 study by McMaster University in Canada found that in terms of life expectancy, there is no extra benefit to be gained from increasing fruit and vegetable consumption from four to five a day.

The lead researcher on that study, Victoria Miller, commented: “Our findings suggest an approach that is likely to be more affordable in lowerand middle-income countries – that three to four servings of fruit, vegetables and legumes per day show a similar benefit against reducing the risk of death to ‘five-a-day’ guidance.”