Bad news for me, at least: not only do potatoes not count as one of your five a day (booooo), but the “five a day rule” for fruits and veggies may be on the skimpy side. 

According to researchers at University College London, the number should ideally be closer to seven. 

It gets worse: most of us (70%) don’t actually get those five fruits and veggies number a day to begin with, partly because we tend to count the types of plants we’ve eaten rather than the volume (the WHO recommends fruit and veggie intake per day by weight, not number).

I’m guilty of counting the odd leaf of spinach and the occasional cherry tomato in my omelette as two of my five a day, when by weight, they only amount to one-fifth of the recommended level. If you are too, read on. 

What’s the recommended intake of fruits and vegetables a day?

WHO says we should eat 400g of fruits and vegetables a day ― this has been repackaged into easier-to-visualise campaigns like the “five a day” one. 

So it makes sense that the NHS says “a portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g”.

That might throw some of us off, because 80g of raw spinach will look a lot bigger than the same weight of, say, turnip. 

Need an example? Well, the NHS shared (to my surprise) that you’ll need two smaller fruits – like plums, kiwi fruits, or satsumas – to make up one of your five a day. That goes to three for apricots and six for lychees. 

Meanwhile, the health service explains you’ll need to eat seven cherry tomatoes to call it a “serving,” while one regular-sized one will do. 

And you’ll only need two broccoli spears or four tablespoons of cooked kale to strike off one of your five a day, it adds.

Finally: “Unsweetened 100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies can only ever count as a maximum of one portion of your five A Day,” the NHS shared. 

“For example, if you have two glasses of fruit juice and a smoothie in one day, that still only counts as one portion.” 

Got it. 

How can I get more fruit and veg into my diet?

Incorporating some fruit and veg into your breakfast, snacking on plants, and making soups and stews can help, BBC Good Food says. 

The British Heart Foundation adds that you can sneak veggies into foods like burgers, curry and pasta sauces. 

Filling half your dinner plate with veggies, keeping loads of frozen plants in your freezer, and keeping chopped fruit and veg ready to go in the fridge for snacks can also help.