The Independent
London, UK
8 May, 2007


Confusion over official advice on healthy diet

Most people are increasing their chances of developing heart disease, cancer and other chronic conditions later in life by failing to eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, research shows.

A majority of the 1,347 people who took part in the internet survey last month were confused about the "five-a-day" message, with many wrongly believing a portion of fruit and veg could be orange squash, herbs or chips.

Two-thirds of people who took part in the poll – five years after the Government launched the "five-a-day" campaign – confessed to feeling guilty they had eaten badly. The findings correspond with Food Standards Agency research published in February which found that only 58 per cent of adults were hitting, or believed they were hitting, the target.

"It's incredible there are still so many 'five-a-day' myths in existence. This is worrying because achieving the target is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and reducing risk of diseases such as heart disease and cancer," said Dr Sarah Schenker, a nutritionist and British Nutrition Foundation member.

Under the Department of Health scheme launched in 2003, adults are urged to eat five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

A portion is one apple, banana or orange; one slice of a large fruit such as melon or pineapple; or three tablespoons of a vegetable. Fruit juice counts as a portion but potatoes are excluded.

According to the poll for Tropicana Smoothies, 66 per cent of adults claim to understand the "five-a-day" mantra, but many failed to achieve the target because they had "misinformed ideas". Some 60 per cent of people believed five pieces of fruit alone ticked the "five-a-day" box, while the Government specified there should be a mix of portions.

A quarter of respondents thought orange squash counted, while many were similarly misguided about herbs (10 per cent) and chips (3 per cent).

The British Dietetic Association said there had been only modest changes in the diet since the "five-a-day" scheme's launch.

"The average is three servings a day," said a spokeswoman, Ursula Arens. "Women are having about the same as men, but if you look at the calorie intake women are doing better than men. Older people are doing better than younger people."

The registered dietitian added: "Generally, our diets are too high in fat, too high in sugar, too high in salt and too low in fibre, and not achieving the fruit and veg every day. Although intakes of calories are not much higher than in the past, because our lifestyles are so sedentary, we have obesity. We know from lots of epidemiology that diets that are high in fruit and vegetables seem to be associated with lower rates of heart disease and some cancers."

Cancer and coronary heart disease account for 60 per cent of all early deaths and a "key feature" of the Government's strategy to reduce early deaths from the diseases is improved diet and nutrition.

Todd Katz, of Tropicana Smoothies, said: "We were surprised to learn that "five-a-day" is still widely misunderstood, despite the term being commonly known."


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...iet-822823.html

Orange squash = Fruit drink?

Yep, it's just a name for a kind of drink, unrelated to the squash we grow in our gardens. <g>

Here ya go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squash_(drink)

For most of my live I believed that corn was a vegetable. I'm sure that many people still do. Corn chips would then be considered a vegetable!

Stores sell canned corn with the canned vegetables, further misleading people.

Oooooooh....I was really trying hard to figure out why squash was not considered a vegetable!

OK, I'm an idiot. Corn isn't a vegetable?? I understand it's pure starch (esp. today's ullllllltra hybrid versions) but I didn't know it wasn't a veggie. It is a grain??

My stepmother once told my kid, "Eat your french fries. It's a vegetable." So 'chips' (fries over there) apparently has that confusion worldwide. I told my little girl, "Let's not tell grandma how confused she is, it only upsets her," and she agreed.

Yep, corn is a grain.

I hate saying this, but duh! What's the difference? Wouldn't juice be much worse than potatoes, citing fructose content alone?



Lots of epidemiology, eh? I now view Registered Dietitians in the same light as how Shakespeare viewed lawyers. The "5 a day" plan should mean beef, pork, chicken, fish, and game. And for Pete's sake, don't forget the butter.

There are some Registered Dietitians out there doing a lot of harm and it's P'ing me off.

Ah, a woman after my heart. I agree with you completely. The term Registered Dietitian is a Big Fat Joke. I liken that profession to a golf Pro: His job consists exclusive in manufacturing a reason for its continued existence.

From MyPyramid.gov:
Starchy vegetables
corn
green peas
lima beans (green)
potatoes

Whole grains:
brown rice
buckwheat
bulgur (cracked wheat)
oatmeal
popcorn

Grain list is long and includes Cornbread as a "refined" grain, but otherwise corn isn't listed.

I was brought up with corn as a veggie....but we only ate whole kernel corn and corn on the cob....and yea, on occasion popcorn.

Redenbacher (?sp) advertises they are a whole grain product!

i love it when companies do this... like twizzlers advertising that they're a fat-free product.

Maybe car manufacturers should start advertising that their cars are fat free.

From MyPyramid.gov:
Starchy vegetables
corn [GRAIN]
green peas [LEGUME]
lima beans (green) [LEGUME]
potatoes [TUBER]

This from the same folks who also consider fruits vegetables, fruits nuts and tortilla chips a whole grain food. oy

Table spoons? I don't know, as many people here have said, I find on this "High Protein/no carb", all bacon diet, I tend to eat veggies by the cupful, not by the spoonful. I worked hard to hold back during induction, but just my salad last night was probably two cups of leaves, how many tbsp is that? Then there was the brocolli, another two cups or so. Not to mention 12 oz of tuna and three eggs with mayo and hot peppers.

Who eats only three tbsp of veggies? Besides 8 year old boys I mean.