Nutrition: What ratio of fruit and veg should I eat on a daily basis?
I was having a conversation with Nathan and Toby at one of our weekly meeting’s. How many fruits and vegetables should be eaten every day for the right nutrition Toby brought up? On a daily basis does the public know how many fruit and vegetables are required? What about the ratio? Very little know what fruit and veg they should eat. The government shows the UK population the 5 a day rule on food labelling’s. So does that mean one can eat 5 apples a day and call it 5 portions.
What is the ratio to veg to fruit?
The number Toby mentioned was 8:2 for optimum nutrition, 8 vegetables and 2 fruits. This seemed quite extreme at first but then I thought of how easy it could be. As a personal trainer in Windsor I promote healthy eating to all my clients. That means that I have to eat healthily to be a good example. Making a food diary of how much fruit and veg I ate in a week made me more conscious.
Little nutrition experiment
What I didn’t know is how many vegetables and fruits I ate a day. Obviously I knew that I would eat more this week just because I was taking note. I found it was very hard to eat 8:2 on my busy days. But on my days where I was able to get to the kitchen for a vegetable smoothie, I found it very easy to keep this ratio. My daily energy increased on the days when I put in what was necessary.
I dont like vegetable
If you don’t like vegetable then learn to like them. 21 tries at trying a new food will get your body used to it. Its much healthier for your body. Its cheaper for your wallet and you feel the benefit from it in your daily life. I mix my vegetables up in a smoothing and a banana to make it slightly sweet but not to sweet. This is the best way to get 3 veg and 1 fruit in your body. Add more veg to meals in the evenings so bulk it out more. Even if your eating something that you think is unhealthy. Like cauliflower cheese can have broccoli and onion mixed in with it making it a healthier dish that takes great too.
Last note
The reason to eat more veg is to get the right amount of vitamins and minerals into the body. This nutrition helps with daily function and the way your body feels. Vegetable and fruit are like the medicine from the earth the more we eat the better we get. For example the Mediterranean diet may have benefits of living longer and make it less likely to put on weight. The diet is mainly make up of vegetable, beans, pulses, nuts, fish and oils.
