5 a day: How to get there?

No need to be a rabbit to achieve the goal of 5 portions for a minimum of 5 days a week! All you need to do is eat fruit and vegetables at each meal. For example: one fruit or one real fruit juice at breakfast; a vegetable and a fruit at lunch; a vegetable and a fruit at dinner. And if need be, you can round things out with snacks. Eat fruits as well as vegetables, because it’s the combination of the two types of food that brings the maximum benefit (for example 3 portions of vegetables and 2 portions of fruit).


A “reflex” to develop

According to the Canadian Community Health Survey 1, close to half (45%) of Quebecers in 2005 did not eat enough fruit and vegetables, that is to say the minimum of 5 portions each day as recommended by Canada’s Food Guide. The reasons are numerous:

  • “I don’t have the time to prepare them.”
  • “They are expensive.”
  • “I didn’t know that it was so important for my health.”
  • “I don’t really like them.”
Of course it is not always easy to change habits. But by making changes progressively and staying open to new ideas, you will end up developing the “reflex” of consuming at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, for a minimum of 5 days a week.


1. Canadian Community Health Survey 2005. (People aged 12 and over)
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-221-XIE/2006001/tables.htm (consulted December 19, 2006).

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