7 portions of fruit and veg a day ...

[Fallout]

... would literally give me the sheets. How can anyone eat that much fibre without having to overhaul their u-bend and take out a share in Andrex? I'm all for healthy eating and I like to eat a balanced diet, but seriously! That's 50 flippin' turnips per week! You'd need to actually be a farmer and stop every 2 hours during harvest to quaff down a cabbage in order to meet your quota. There isn't enough feckin' land ON MARS to grow enough greens to give everyone the total explosive diarrhoea being recommended.

Shut up nutritionists.

[carelesschucca]

1st of April?

[Fallout]

Alas no. It has been established for a long time that many countries recommend 7 portions and apparently chubby wobbly Americans recommend up to 13!!! Which is basically the daily diet of an African village.

[Spank86]

You'd adapt.

It still seems like rather a lot of food though. I'm not sure if my daily intake gets up to 7 portions in total.

[Red ones]

. There isn't enough feckin' land ON MARS to grow enough greens to give everyone the total explosive diarrhoea being recommended.



Growing your favoured meat takes up considerably more space, water and energy.

[Fallout]

Yes, but cows agree with my innards. That could be solved by getting rid of freedom food and growing cows in pitch black pods and electrocuting them to build muscle mass and harvesting their poo for energy.

As for adapting, I'm not sure if that is true. I used to eat curry and my body changed to not agree with hot ones. I didn't adapt to that. I also used to love salads full of spinach and onions and other bowel storm inducing veg and now I can't eat that! I don't think the human digestive tract is designed to break down so much fibre, otherwise we'd be chewing on hessian sacks instead of gum.

[Spank86]

As for adapting, I'm not sure if that is true. I used to eat curry and my body changed to not agree with hot ones. I didn't adapt to that. I also used to love salads full of spinach and onions and other bowel storm inducing veg and now I can't eat that! I don't think the human digestive tract is designed to break down so much fibre, otherwise we'd be chewing on hessian sacks instead of gum.
we eat more meat now than at any time in history so clearly we ARE designed for it.

With regards to spices they are a plants evolutionary adaption for one of two things, either in an effort to prevent animals eating them, OR to provide a nice growth medium at the other end, It's just that humans are stupid enough to think it's a good idea to munch as many as possible.

[Bibio]

it's 5 in Scotland only coz we need the room for the deep fried mars bar.

[L3nny]

How are you supposed to stick to the reccomended calorie intake when eating around 1000 calories woth of fruit??

[kaivalagi]

Next the government will be advising we should all become vegetarians...

[Red ones]

I think the unwritten point is that many people exceed the calorie intake hence the obesity rate.

I strongly recommend reading "In Defence of Food"
Eat little, mostly vegetables. Don't eat anything that doesn't rot.

[tactcom7]

Growing your favoured meat takes up considerably more space, water and energy.

This.

Invest in a juicer and you'll find it easy to get the 7 recommended portions.

You don't have to spend a fortune on one either. Want to lose an easy 5lbs? Go on a 3 day juice day, combined with lots of water and the weight will drop off. Not saying you're fat as I've never met you it's just an example :D

[chris8886]

This.

Invest in a juicer and you'll find it easy to get the 7 recommended portions.

You don't have to spend a fortune on one either. Want to lose an easy 5lbs? Go on a 3 day juice day, combined with lots of water and the weight will drop off. Not saying you're fat as I've never met you it's just an example :D



he's not fat and he's already skinny as rake! lol

[Red Herring]

This.

Invest in a juicer and you'll find it easy to get the 7 recommended portions.

You don't have to spend a fortune on one either. Want to lose an easy 5lbs? Go on a 3 day juice day, combined with lots of water and the weight will drop off. Not saying you're fat as I've never met you it's just an example :D

Don't forget that's seven portions of fruit AND veg. If you just have the fruit you'll be filling up on fructose which is a lot of sugar for the body to break down which potentially could lead to insulin issues. Eating the whole fruit is a bit better as it also has all the fibre and besides, as you have just pointed out, it's quite hard to eat seven oranges....

[Littlepeahead]

Just have a packet of fruit pastilles, that's about 14 pieces.

[Red ones]

Does chocolate count?

[dizzyblonde]

Growing your favoured meat takes up considerably more space, water and energy.

Actually, that statement could be seen as flawed depending how you look at it.

When grow crops efficiently, you have to rotate them correctly each year. For instance, you can't stick stuff in the ground after growing spuds... So it's better to leave that area empty the following year or fIll it with green manure(specific plants used to add nutrition to the soil). You can't really stick much in after onions either. The idea is to rotate over a four year plan.

Animals can be rotated between two areas whilst one rests. As opposed to four.
Growing grains needs a vast area to put up with demand. Mainly to feed animals but also us.


Being vegetarian can be considered as quite un eco friendly as vast environments are wiped out for the growth of grains. Local wildlife is pushed out due to destruction of hedgerows and habitat, unlike grazing sheep or cattle where the lot can live side by side.



Anyway, enough geek talk...7 a day.....that's a lot of dumps. The sewerage system alone couldn't cope with that much flushing :lol:


Juicing rots your teeth. And can be detrimental to health

[Mrs DJ Fridge]

I really thought that it was an April Fool joke put out there by a toilet roll manufacturer, but it seems to be true, I however will stick to aiming for my 5 a day which is quite difficult enough given that I never eat between meals and do not have desserts.

[Littlepeahead]

Does chocolate count?

Of course, Terrys Chocolate Orange, Cadburys Fruit and Nut, Marks and Spencer Belgian Chocolate coated raisins.

But one should aim for a balanced diet including proteins like meat and eggs, so be sure to include some Percy Pigs and Cadbury mini eggs.

[Spank86]

When grow crops efficiently, you have to rotate them correctly each year. For instance, you can't stick stuff in the ground after growing spuds... So it's better to leave that area empty the following year or fIll it with green manure(specific plants used to add nutrition to the soil). You can't really stick much in after onions either. The idea is to rotate over a four year plan.

Animals can be rotated between two areas whilst one rests. As opposed to four.

Are you suggesting that three quarters of fields need to be rested because compared to animals 1 having half the fields rested?

Because even leaving aside that farmers can plant peas to add nitrogen back to fields and make the rest up with fertilising, round here they rarely have more set-aside than is absolutely necessary (read, the amount the government pays them to)

[Littlepeahead]

Cannibalism is the obvious solution.

[dizzyblonde]

Are you suggesting that three quarters of fields need to be rested because compared to animals 1 having half the fields rested?

Because even leaving aside that farmers can plant peas to add nitrogen back to fields and make the rest up with fertilising, round here they rarely have more set-aside than is absolutely necessary (read, the amount the government pays them to)

Over farming.
Why do you think there is so much flooding? There's an article on it somewhere, and it includes the government paying handsomely to do so. I'll try digging it out.

[timwilky]

I love my veg (with the exception of sprouts which were invented by the devil) But eat fruit! No way it gives me severe abdominal pain, burns the back of my throat and guts. yes I will eat the odd bite of an apple or banana. But that has to be it. One bite.

So I guess my quota is going to be 5 a year.

[Spank86]

Over farming.
Why do you think there is so much flooding? There's an article on it somewhere, and it includes the government paying handsomely to do so. I'll try digging it out.

2 reasons depending on the area.

one is more rain than we've had in a long time (combined with the increasing urbanisation of land reducing the availability of drainage).


the second is the lack of clearing of waterways because the government took it over from the farmers when they had money then stopped again when they didn't but the farmers never took the job back.


Crops VS Animals is a simple energy equation that can only balance if you find an animal that is 100% energy efficient and can't ever fall solidly on the side of animals.

[socommk23]

Its been said they are also reducingbthe recomended sugar intake to 5 teaspoons if sugar. While one banana contains 7 teaspoons of natural sugars. Go figure.

[dizzyblonde]

2 reasons depending on the area.

one is more rain than we've had in a long time (combined with the increasing urbanisation of land reducing the availability of drainage).


the second is the lack of clearing of waterways because the government took it over from the farmers when they had money then stopped again when they didn't but the farmers never took the job back.


Crops VS Animals is a simple energy equation that can only balance if you find an animal that is 100% energy efficient and can't ever fall solidly on the side of animals.

Here you go, something to explore my view.
As I said planting green manure would be a good idea, peas and beans are perfect, but fields of phacelia are very pretty as well as useful ;-)

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/17/farmers-uk-flood-maize-soil-protection

[Spank86]

All valid points and i agree it probably plays a large part in the somerset flooding but to me that's a methods issue not a meat vs veg one. Correct methods can result in the same amount of land feeding more people from crops than meat assuming land use is properly redistributed. The real problem in my mind is that currently not all land used for farming would be suitable. A lot of welsh sheep farms for instance, the gradient would be a nightmare for harvesting.

[atassiedevil]

If you make sure you're only eating vegetarians and vegans, does that not kill all birds with one stone?


Cannibalism is the obvious solution.

[tactcom7]

Eat your fruit and juice your veg.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd319/tactcom7/photo5_zpsc08c8562.jpg

Might not look appetising (unless you're a vampire perhaps?) but in there are

6 carrots
4 sticks of celery
2 beetroot
2 spring onions
1 inch of garlic
2 apples
1 cucumber
1 head of broccoli
2 limes
1 bell pepper
1 handful of sprouts

A lot more than 7 portions i'd say, doesn't taste amazing but it is do-able. :)

[Littlepeahead]

If drinking that is going to enable me to live to a hundred I think I'd rather live a shorter life and actually enjoy it as that sounds disgusting!

[tactcom7]

As with everything, don't knock it till you've tried it.

Plus, it's not to try and live to be 100, more about trying to be a bit healthier. I used to eat too much meat (I think), this is just an alternative to having to chomp through loads of fruit and veg. Eat healthy through the week then Sunday eat as much roast dinner and all the rest as you can! ;)

[Fallout]

I got my smoothie maker out today for other purposes. I may leave it on the work surface and start chucking stuff in it. I guess I can just bung sugar in it if it taste likes garbage. If the worst comes to the worst I'll just make a steak, pork scratchings and kebab smoothie.

[atassiedevil]

I'm with you on that one.

I'd rather have a happy life, and smile every day rather than feel like i lived to 100 by having to do stuff like that.

If drinking that is going to enable me to live to a hundred I think I'd rather live a shorter life and actually enjoy it as that sounds disgusting!

[tactcom7]

I'm sorry, did I say I don't smile every day or have a happy life because I bought a juicer and make the occasional veg filled juice? Nope. Who wants to live to be a hundred anyway??

[Spank86]

I'm with you on that one.

I'd rather have a happy life, and smile every day rather than feel like i lived to 100 by having to do stuff like that.
what if you live till 90 in either instance but in the one where you don't drink juiced veg you spend the last 20 years hospitalised?

[Littlepeahead]

what if you live till 90 in either instance but in the one where you don't drink juiced veg you spend the last 20 years hospitalised?

If you've been drinking liquidised garlic and onion you certainly won't be snogging any saucy nurses in your hospital I know that much!

[Spank86]

Ye of little faith.

[Luckypants]

I thought the recommended intake was 5-portions? http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx

Easy to do if you think about it. Glass of OJ at breakfast = 1, bit of salad at lunch (say a whole tomato in your butty) and a piece of fruit = 2 then two veg at dinner or one veg and fruit for desert = 2 more, total five a day. :smt038