5 A DAY: what counts?

Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY, making it easier than you may think to get your recommended amount each day.

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.

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, see Food and diet.

What counts towards 5 a Day?

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 Food labels.

Do potatoes count towards 5 A DAY?

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 the main nutrient in potatoes is starch (carbohydrate). Also, when eaten as part of a meal potatoes 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.

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5 A DAY

Why 5 A DAY?

Fruit and vegetables are part of a balanced diet and can help us stay healthy. That’s why it so important that we get enough of them.

5 A DAY highlights the health benefits of getting five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables every day. That’s five portions of fruit and veg altogether, not five portions of each.

Five reasons to get five portions

• Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there's so much variety to choose from.
• They're a good source of vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamin C and potassium.
• They're an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems. A diet high in fibre can also reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
• They can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
• Fruit and vegetables contribute to a healthy and balanced diet.

Fruit and vegetables are also usually low in fat and calories (provided you don’t fry them or roast them in lots of oil). That’s why eating them can help you maintain a healthy weight and keep your heart healthy.

5 A DAY is based on advice from the World Health Organization, which recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

To get the most benefit out of your 5 A DAY, your five portions should include a variety of fruit and vegetables. This is because different fruits and vegetables contain different combinations of fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY. Potatoes and cassava don’t count because they mainly contribute starch to the diet.

To learn more about what counts towards your 5 A DAY, go to 5 A DAY: what counts?

Getting your 5 A DAY is easy. In our 5 A DAY section, you’ll find lots of advice and information, from portion sizes to recipes and restaurant tips, to help you and your family fit five portions into your daily lives.

You can also learn more by downloading this Just Eat More leaflet (PDF, 342kb). 

If you have an enquiry about 5 A DAY, please email: 

ayoubred11@gmail.com

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