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Why the 'five-a-day' rule may soon include nuts and seeds

BRITS love a good handful of peanuts.

And now, experts say it could be included as part of the five-a-day fruit and veg advice.

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Experts also warned dried fruit needs improved guidance, as their nutritional benefits are different from whole fruits.

A report by Dr Max Gowland noted the UK is grappling with a growing health crisis, marked by a rise in chronic disease, primarily driven by the nation's poor dietary habits.

He also said the messaging to 'eat your five-a-day' is very well known, attempting to promote the health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption.

But despite the presence of nuts and dried fruits within the government's standard 'Eatwell Guide' the health benefits of eating these as well as seeds regularly, is perhaps under-appreciated.

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Gowland's suggestion is to add nuts, seeds and dried fruit to the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, along with a significant government-led awareness campaign.

He said: "Simply adding a daily handful of nutrient-dense nuts, seeds and dried fruits could make a real difference to the nation's health.

"These foods are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and healthy fats that help close the nutrition gap many of us face.

"A small handful can deliver the equivalent nutrition of one of your five a day, while also supporting heart health, brain function and immunity."

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Whitworths, which commissioned the study, carried out further research of 2,000 adults, which found almost a fifth (18 per cent) rarely or never achieve their five portions a day.

The same percentage didn't even know exactly which foods count towards this quota.

A third (34 per cent) of those who don't buy into five-a-day also believed the recommended amounts of these foods to be 'exaggerated' and more than a quarter (27 per cent) didn't think it would have a significant impact on health.

Baz Goode for Whitworths, said: "This system has remained in place for more than 20 years now, and while awareness is high, many consumers are either left confused or still struggle to eat their five portions of fruit and veg per day.

"It's time to update the guidance and recognise the importance of a much wider variety of nutrient-rich foodstuffs like nuts and seeds that can deliver profound health benefits from a small portion.

"As diet-related chronic disease continues to grow, now is the time to make a change, give consumers more ways of reaching their five a day goal and positively impact the health of the nation but also reduce the financial burden on the NHS having to treat preventable, diet-related chronic disease."

As part of the initiative, Whitworths has also teamed up with nutritionist Rob Hobson, who said: "Nuts, seeds and dried fruits are such an easy win as they're rich in fibre, healthy fats and key nutrients like magnesium, zinc and iron that many of us fall short on."

The survey found 28 per cent have 'convinced themselves' a food item does count towards their five-a-day because it was something they wanted to eat.

Dr Max Gowland said: "Eight out of the top 10 causes of diet-related death are avoidable, largely due to what's missing from our diets rather than what we're eating too much of.

"If adopted more widely, this simple change could not only boost individual wellbeing and extend our healthy years of life, but also ease the growing burden of diet-related disease on our economy."

The amazing health benefits of nuts

Dementia risk

A study of more than 50,000 people found that people who eat a handful of nuts every day could be less likely to get dementia.

Lose weight

Scientists found that when replacing less nutritional foods with a 28g serving of nuts, people had a lower risk of weight gain and obesity over the four-year follow-up intervals.

Faster brain

Eating 50g of walnuts - the equivalent of a large handful - could help your brain speed up. It led to faster reaction times throughout the day when added to yoghurt or muesli.

Beat cancer

People with colon cancer who regularly ate nuts were at "significantly lower risk" of cancer recurrence than those who did not, a study showed.

Boosts fertility

In a study of 119 men, those who munched a handful of nuts a day for 14 weeks saw their sperm count rocket.

An estimated 80 per cent of consumers likely fall short of the daily recommended levels for at least four essential micronutrients.

Overall, people don't think they get enough of vitamin D (29 per cent), omega-3 and healthy fats (23 per cent), as well as iron (22 per cent) in a typical day.

With those who aren't getting enough of these, they put a shortfall in the amount of fruit and veg they eat as the top reason.

One in five (21 per cent) admitted to currently having a diet-related health problem, with half of these respondents also worried this may get worse.

Of these, 36 per cent put this fear down to their struggle to maintain a healthy diet, with others finding the urge to resist unhealthy food (34 per cent) their main cause for concern.

With almost a fifth (18 per cent) worried they have limited knowledge of how to manage their condition through diet, according to the OnePoll.com data.

Rob said: "It's a really important topic, because plugging the nutrient gap isn't about following the latest diet fad, it's about getting back to basics.

"The data shows just how many of us are missing out on simple foods that can make a big difference to long-term health.

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"We often think of diet-related illness as being about excess, but this shows that what's missing is just as important."