WHY FIVE-A-DAY SHOULD BECOME EIGHT
If you thought that eating five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day had health benefits – try munching eight – it will actually put a smile on your face.
No really, its true, new research has shown the more fruit and veg you eat, the happier you become.
Boffins at the University of Warwick made the discovery after looking at the psychological effects of eating more of the good stuff.
And they found that as well as reducing the risk of cancer and heart attacks, it boosted your mood too.
In fact, after studying more than 12,000 people, they concluded that people who went from eating no fruit or veg a day to consuming eight portions experienced an increase in life satisfaction equivalent from being unemployed to getting a job.
The well-being improvements occurred within 24 months.
So the message really is, get eating.
An easy way of upping your intake of fruit and veg is through juicing and smoothies. That way you can sneak more of the healthy stuff into children’s diets and make sure you start the day with a glow.
A few smoothie ideas to get you started
Tropical Mango, Pineapple and Coconut Smoothie
1/2 Mango
Thick slice of pineapple (200 g)
1 mug coconut water (300 ml)
Handful cashew nuts
2 tablespoons coconut milk
Juice of 1/2 lime
Optional: handful of porridge oats
Peel the mango using and cut its flesh off the stone into the blender.
Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy
Simple Banana and Spinach Smoothie
1 ripe banana, peeled
Big handful of spinach
2 Medjool dates, pitted
1 heaped teaspoon almond butter
1/2 mug cold water or almond milk (150 ml)
Place all the ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth.
