5 A DAY? What you REALLY need to do to lose weight and to be in rude health!

There has been a lot of criticism of 5-A-DAY campaign saying it is useless and you need other nutrients too that fruits and vegetables cannot supply and there’s no evidence it can protect from cancer, heart disease or diabetes.

I am of a strong opinion that, of course, your diet should be balanced and fruit and veggies should not be the only foods that you eat. As for disease prevention, other factors play a huge role, like smoking, alcohol, drugs, medications, pollution, lack of sleep and stress and also ensuring your diet is hormone and chemical free, and you are also thinking happy thoughts.:)

But just looking at the idea in general - I think it is a great place to start! I have seen a miracle changes in people around me, my clients and I myself when started eating a lot of fresh produce. I am 100% confident that eating these foods, and especially fresh raw vegetables and fruit, is the best thing you can do for you body to feel full of vitality, strong, happy and to lose weight.

That’s why I always start by recommending including vegetables into one’s diet first instead of going on supplements when a person complains about fatigue, digestive disorders, weight gain and frequent colds.

IS '5-A-DAY' FORMULA OPTIMAL FOR WEIGHT LOSS?

I don’t fully agree with the '5-A-DAY' formula for 2 reasons:

1. Firstly, some people might think that "Well, I ate 3 kiwis and 2 apples today, so I’m done, the box is ticked". 
2. Secondly, more and more packaged pre-cooked foods, like sauces, canned cooked vegetables and fruit have a writing saying “I am one of your 5 a day.” This is misleading over the top, because these foods are processed and have added either sugar and salt and were cooked for too long. As a result, their nutritional value is depleted and they withstand no competition with the same fresh raw vegetables and fruit.

WHAT I SUGGEST INSTEAD OF THE VAGUE 5-A-DAY FORMULA

Rule Number 1

Treat fruit as a dessert replacement or a snack or a small part of a meal. But fruit do not work well as a proper meal replacement. The only exception I can think of is on a hot summer day when fresh sliced fruit for breakfast works perfectly... :)

But as a rule, remember - fruits are quiet high in sugar and even though it is a natural sugar you still need to watch it if you want to lose weight and keep it off. 

Have to say that weight loss is not the only reason why you need to watch your sugar intake. Problems associated with high blood sugar level are - increased the risk of diabetes, arhtritis and joint pain, inflammatory processes in the body, damages your teeth and liver, anxiety. It also overloads your inner organs,  and can lead to hormonal disbalance and infertility... Not funny at all!

By the way, here's a nice summary of 126 adverse effects of REFINED sugar. Next time you reach out for a candy, doughnut or pastry it won't be that appealing anymore... :) http://www.dreamviews.com/lounge/5272-126-reasons-sugar-ruining-your-health.html

Rule Number 2

Focus on fresh vegetables. And here are 3 sub-rules:

Firstly, the amount of fruit a day should be only 1/3 of the whole amount of vegetables you eat in that day. So for each portion of fruit, you'll need 3 portions of veggies. A portion differs for each person as we come in different shapes and size. What fits comfortably into your palm/handful is the best measure for your own personal portion size.

Here's a rough guide of fruit & veg portion sizes that will give you an idea -
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/documents/downloads/5aday_portion_guide.pdf 

Secondly, the amount of vegetables should fill at least half of your plate.

Thirdly, raw vegetables are your primary choice. If you can eat something raw, definitely go for it and eat it raw. Otherwise, if you eat lightly cooked vegetables (e.g. lightly stir fried for a short time, in a little amount of olive oil and on a low heat OR steamed just until they start becoming soft or baked in an oven in a mix of little olive oil and water for 30 minutes), the intake should still be balanced with raw vegetables in order to make a substantial improvement of your health and achieve tangible results.

By following these rules you won’t need to worry about any detox plans. ;)

ARE ALL VEGETABLES EQUALLY BENEFICIAL FOR WEIGHT LOSS AND HEALTH?

Luckily, as per the original idea starchy vegetables like potatoes, yams, cassava or plantain DO NOT count towards your 5-a-day plan, and I fully support this idea.

Even though these products have beneficial properties, they do not promote a healthy detox, they do not keep your gastrointestinal tract as clean as other vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, broccoli, kale, leafy greens and so on. If you want to lose weight, remember - these starchy vegetables raise your blood sugar level and trigger fat-storing hormones. I also recommend avoiding rutabaga, swede turnip, boiled carrots, cabbage turnip (kohlrabi), jicama (mexican turnip), corn and taro.

RAW root vegetables like carrots, turnip, celeriac, knob celery, turnip rooted celery are OK. You can eat radish in unlimited quantities. ;) 

You can also enjoy cooked parsnips, pumpkins, sweet potatoes baked with skin, squash, marrow  in moderate quantities IF you want to maintain your weight, but cut them down if you are in a weight loss stage. Same is with cooked turnip, celeriac, knob celery, turnip rooted celery - the glycaemic load is quite low, so you can eat them in very limited amount, but cut them down if you are trying to lose weight. 

THE GOLDEN RULE TO TAKE WITH YOU 

What I learned myself the hard way and what I advise you is the golden rule of healthy body inside out and healthy weight:

If you want to become best friends with your body, you’ll need to become best friends with vegetables and I can guarantee your body will love you back!

With Love,

Natalia xx