5 a day, is it necessary?

“5 a day” has become a mantra in the media and among health, fitness, diet gurus and, it must be said, total charlatans.  Having said that, moderate amounts of fruit and vegetables are fine and many enjoy them but they’re not the life saver the farmers and retailers would have you believe.

Some research has shown, ostensibly, remarkabe differences between the health and mortality of those who eat five a day and those who don’t.  No account was taken of the type of people involved or their lifestyles.  Just think about it for a moment.  A person who makes sure they have the recommended 5 , or more, is unlikely to risk undoing all the (supposed) good work by smoking, drinking alcohol to excess and living on junk food.  In other words they were more health conscious anyway and, it follows, doing their best to take care of themselves.  Those unwilling or too stupid to take care of themselve in a sensible manner, would be unlikely to consume anything like 5 a day and, very likely, think chips or french fries all the vegetable matter they need.  On the other hand, those who strive for a healthy lifestyle are the ideal target for any marketing hype such as eat 5 a day.

Do the 5 a Day Statistics Lie?

Yes.  To illustrate the point, there was a rash of headlines recently proclaiming that a certain number of hours a week of television was linked to a 125% increase in risk of cardiovascular events.  Again, just think about it for a moment.  Those watching television for extended periods would obviously include the very ill, the dying, alcoholics and the already obese!  These “studies are nothing short of alarmist nonsense.

Just one more example of statistical nonsense.

It has been shown in “studies” – the media love that word – that teetotallers have a greater risk of premature death than those who drink a little each day.  No mention of the fact that those apparently blameless souls who do not indulge, include those who are already extremely ill or even dying from damage resulting from alcoholism.  In fact, those with any form of life threatening disease would be under strict instructions not to drink alcohol and would be much more likely to die prematurely than moderate drinkers.

Back to 5 a Day.

So why are we being bullied into eating food many don’t like and we possibly don’t need?  It all goes back to 1991 and started as a marketing campaign by 25 fruit and vegetable companies who managed to get the American National Cancer Institute on board.  Isn’t that a dream come true for fruit and vegetable farmers!  There’s no real evidence that eating 5 a day is of benefit to one’s health.

Is there a Downside to Eating 5 a day?

There’s most definately a downside to eating 5 a day, particularly fruit.  Fruit is full of sugar and to make matters worse, it’s fructose which happens to be just about the unhealthiest sugar around!

We never used to eat as much fruit as we do today and in those days obesity and type 2 diabetes were rare.  After world war 2 people reeived oranges as christmas presents.  We ate apples but they were nowhere near as sweet as the varieties available today.  Skilful marketing has created a demand for sweet things and then produced the products to satisfy the cravings.

In healthier times, fruit was seasonal and, apart from preserves, we just did not have a vast array of fruit and vegetables on offer in shops so it was difficult, to say the least to eat 5 a day.