One of Your 5 a Day.....

Officer Giggles

so was in tesco last night and i saw a carton of pre chopped assorted melon, 200g, stamped across the label was "1 of your 5 a day", below it was a 400g carton, again it was stamped "1 of your 5 a day". if the 200g carton is 1 of your 5 a day should it not follow that the 400g carton would be 2 of your 5 a day or is it not that simple

chin_grin

I think you've just missed the point completely. It's not x grams of one fruit\veg. It's different fruit and veg.

So having an apple AND a banana would be two of your five.

Officer Giggles

but is there a minimum amount of g's of a fruit/veg you must eat for it to count as one

chin_grin

Not sure, but found this if it helps.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Whatcounts.aspx

Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY. That’s why it’s so easy to ensure you get your five portions.
Fruit and vegetables don’t have to be fresh to count as a portion. Nor do they have to be eaten on their own: they also count if they're part of a meal or dish.
To find out how much is in a portion, see 5 A DAY portion sizes.
What counts?
The following count towards your 5 A DAY:
Fresh fruit and vegetables.
Frozen fruit and vegetables.
Tinned or canned fruit and vegetables. Buy the ones tinned in natural juice or water, with no added sugar or salt.
Dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs.
Fruit and vegetables cooked in dishes such as soups, stews or pasta dishes.
A glass (150ml) of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice. Juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day, however much you drink. That's mainly because juice contains less fibre than whole fruits and vegetables.
Smoothies. A smoothie containing all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable may count as more than one portion but this depends on how it's made. Smoothies count as up to a maximum of two portions per day. For more details, see 5 A DAY FAQs.
Beans and pulses. These only count as one portion a day, no matter how many you eat. That's because they contain fewer nutrients than other fruits and vegetables.
Fruit and veg in convenience foods, such as ready meals and shop-bought pasta sauces, soups and puddings. Some ready-made foods are high in salt, sugar and fat, so only have them occasionally or in small amounts. You can find the salt, sugar and fat content of ready-made foods on the label. For more information, see Understanding food labels.
There is more information on what counts towards your 5 A DAY at this fruit and veg questions page on the Eatwell website.
What doesn’t count?
Potatoes are a vegetable, but they don't count towards your 5 A DAY.
Potatoes are classified nutritionally as a starchy food. That’s because when eaten as part of a meal, they are generally used in place of other sources of starch, such as bread, pasta or rice.
Other vegetables that don’t count towards your 5 A DAY are yams, cassava and plaintain: they are also usually eaten as starchy foods.
However, other root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count toward your 5 A DAY, because they are usually eaten in addition to the starchy food part of the meal.
While potatoes don’t count towards your 5 A DAY, they do play an important role in your diet. They are a great choice of starchy food, particularly if they are not cooked in too much salt or fat. They are a good source of energy, fibre, B vitamins and potassium. Although potaoes don’t contain much vitamin C compared to other vegetables, in Britain we get a lot of our daily vitamin C from them because we eat so many.

A wide variety
To get the most benefit from your five portions, eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables.
For 5 A DAY recipe ideas, see 5 A DAY recipes.
For more information about a healthy, balanced diet, take a look at Good food.
If you have an enquiry about 5 A DAY, please email: fiveaday@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Last reviewed: 18/12/2009
Next review due: 18/12/2011

EDIT: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Portionsizes.aspx

One adult portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g.
Dowload 5 A DAY posters and leaflets
Use this quick 5 A DAY poster guide (PDF) to find out about portion sizes at a glance.
Find the portion sizes for a wide range of fruits and vegetables, including tinned and dried, in this 5 A DAY portion size guide (PDF).
Download a wallchart (PDF) to help track your 5 A DAY portions each week.
Learn more about what counts towards your 5 A DAY with the 5 A DAY What's it all about? booklet (PDF).
The guide below will give you an indication of typical portion sizes for adults.
Children should also eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day. The amount of food a child needs varies with age, body size and physical activity. As a rough guide, one portion is the amount they can fit in the palm of their hand.
Fruit portions

Fresh fruit
Small-sized fruit
One portion is two or more small fruit, for example two plums, two satsumas, two kiwi fruit, three apricots, six lychees, seven strawberries or 14 cherries.
Medium-sized fruit
One portion is one piece of fruit, such as one apple, banana, pear, orange, nectarine or sharon fruit.
Large fruit
One portion is half a grapefruit, one slice of papaya, one slice of melon (5cm slice), one large slice of pineapple or two slices of mango (5cm slices).
Dried fruit
A portion of dried fruit is around 30g. This is about one heaped tablespoon of raisins, currants or sultanas, one tablespoon of mixed fruit, two figs, three prunes or one handful of dried banana chips.
Tinned fruit in natural juice
One portion is roughly the same quantity of fruit that you would eat for a fresh portion, such as two pear or peach halves, six apricot halves or eight segments of tinned grapefruit.
Vegetable portions

Green vegetables
Two broccoli spears or four heaped tablespoons of kale, spinach, spring greens or green beans.
Cooked vegetables
Three heaped tablespoons of cooked vegetables, such as carrots, peas or sweetcorn, or eight cauliflower florets.
Salad vegetables
Three sticks of celery, a 5cm piece of cucumber, one medium tomato or seven cherry tomatoes.
Tinned and frozen vegetables
Roughly the same quantity as you would eat for a fresh portion. For example, three heaped tablespoons of tinned or frozen carrots, peas or sweetcorn.
Pulses and beans
Three heaped tablespoons of baked beans, haricot beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, butter beans or chickpeas. However much you eat, beans and pulses count as a maximum of one portion a day.
Potatoes
Potatoes don't count towards your 5 A DAY. They are classified nutritionally as a starchy food, because when eaten as part of a meal they are usually used in place of other sources of starch such as bread, rice or pasta. Although they don't count towards your 5 A DAY, potatoes do play an important role in your diet as a starchy food. You can learn more in 5 A DAY: what counts?
Juices and smoothies

One 150ml glass of unsweetened 100% fruit or vegetable juice can count as a portion. But only one glass counts, further glasses of juice don’t count toward your total 5 A DAY portions.
One smoothie containing all the edible pulped fruit or vegetable may count as more than one 5 A DAY portion, but this depends on the quantity of fruits or vegetables and/or juice used, as well as how the smoothie has been made.
For a single smoothie to qualify as being two portions, it must contain either:
at least 80g of one variety of whole fruit and/or vegetable and at least 150ml of a different variety of 100% fruit and/or vegetable juice, or
at least 80g of one variety of whole fruit and/or vegetable and at least 80g of another variety of whole fruit and/or vegetable.
Smoothies count as a maximum of two of your 5 A DAY, however much you drink.
Sugars are released from fruit when it's juiced or blended, and these sugars can cause damage to teeth. Whole fruits are less likely to cause tooth decay because the sugars are contained within the structure of the fruit.
Ready-made foods

Fruit and vegetables contained in shop-bought ready-made foods can also count toward your 5 A DAY.
Always read the label. Some ready-made foods contain high levels of fat, salt and sugar, so only have them occasionally or in small amounts as part of a healthy balanced diet. You can find out more in Food labels.
If you have an enquiry about 5 A DAY, please email: fiveaday@dh.gsi.gov.uk
Last reviewed: 18/12/2009
Next review due: 18/12/2011

Mellor

Officer Giggles wrote: »

so was in tesco last night and i saw a carton of pre chopped assorted melon, 200g, stamped across the label was "1 of your 5 a day", below it was a 400g carton, again it was stamped "1 of your 5 a day". if the 200g carton is 1 of your 5 a day should it not follow that the 400g carton would be 2 of your 5 a day or is it not that simple

You are looking at it wrong. The label means melon can be one of your 5 a day. It doesn't refer to the whole tub, the 200 tub has maybe 2 serves in it, the 400 has 4 serves. This is normally detailed on the back.

chin_grin wrote: »

I think you've just missed the point completely. It's not x grams of one fruit\veg. It's different fruit and veg.

So having an apple AND a banana would be two of your five.

No. It's not 5 different fruit its portions.
Half and apple and half a bananna would be 1 serve.
It's just guide, not even a very good one. Most fruit naturally comes in single portion sizes. You need to eat more berries for a portion and less of large fruit like pineapples and melons.