Seven a day?

Experts said, eating seven or more fruits and vegetables a day is healthier than the initially recommended minimum of five-a-day, advised by the World Health Organisation.

A study of 65,226 men and women show that the more fruit and vegetables people ate, the less likely they were to die at an early age. Fruit and vegetables have a protective effect against disease as they contained antioxidants, which repair damage to cells. As a required part of our balanced diet it is important that we eat a lot of them to ensure that we stay in good health. Eating fruits and vegetables has proved to lower the chance of developing health problems such as Type 2 Diabetes or Heart Disease.

The statistics: Eating one to three of our five-a-day reduces the risk of early death by 14%. Eating three to five fruits and vegetables a day reduces the risk of early death by 29%. Exceeding our currently recommended five-a-day and eating five to seven fruits and vegetables a day reduces the risk of early death by 36% and seven or more reduces the early death risk by 42%.

But most of us struggle to eat the currently recommended five fruits or vegetables a day. The reality is that over two-thirds of us are still short of the current target, many of our daily encounters with our five-a-day comes in the shape of a game of Fruit Ninja on our mobile devices. Should we really be shooting for the stars of eating seven portions a day when we can’t even manage five?