OK, how big is a portion then? One apple? Eight raisins? A medium size potato? A bottle of green juice? Despite the guidelines, none of the above are actually healthy for you. That includes the apple despite the saying “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away”.

And what is the split between fruit and veg? That is a trick question as there should be no fruit. Modern fruits are a result of highly selective breeding, maximizing sugars and as such fruits are not healthy for you. Yes, they contain vitamins and fiber, but this doesn’t compensate for the harmful amounts of sugars. Fruit juices are even worse as they don’t contain fiber. Guidelines also include dried fruits but those are basically pure sugar and you can eat a lot of them. Some good news: berries are still fine.

Does this mean I have to eat five portions of vegetables a day? No, it does not. Five is just made up and the number varies from country to country. You should focus on eating vegetables that are grown above ground because below ground vegetables contain starch, and carbs are not good for you. You might think that bread, potatoes and pasta are healthier than sweets and desserts, but your body does not really see the difference, since all of these foods are broken down into sugars (ref).