AN APPLE a day keeps the doctor away... or so we once thought.
Research now suggests that we should be getting 10 portions of fruit and vegetables in our daily diet, contrary to the current five-a-day NHS guidelines.
In a report published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (the study of diseases) it is claimed that doubling our intake of fruit and veg could significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Chris Murphy, 38, owner/manager of vegetarian cafe, Pastures Pantry in Barrow said: "Even small amounts of fruit and veg, say two and a half, three, four portions assist with preventing cancers and strokes so it makes sense to me that getting an increase would have a knock-on effect on reducing those as well."
According to the research it is estimated that if everyone ate 10 portions of fruit and vegetables each day then 7.8 million premature deaths could be prevented worldwide.
But is eating this amount of fruit and vegetables a realistic goal?
"In terms of how challenging it could be, it is going to take planning for people. They're going to have to sit down and re-evaluate their weekly shopping list but it's not going to be difficult," claims Mr Murphy.
The research team from Imperial college London found that apples and pears, citrus fruits, salads and green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and chicory may help protect against heart disease, strokes, cardiovascular disease and early death.
Meanwhile, the risk of contracting cancer can be significantly reduced by eating green vegetables such as green beans and yellow vegetables like peppers and carrots.
But what is the best way to incorporate these foods into our diets?
"One good tip would be to buy some frozen fruit in the morning and a bunch of bananas and just before you go to work, whizz them up with a bit of non-dairy milk or some water if you're trying to keep those calories down and that's two of your five a day already," says Mr Murphy.
Another suggestion would be to add some chopped fruit to breakfast cereal or replace crisps with a healthy snack like carrot sticks with houmous and coriander.
Contrary to popular belief, eating healthily doesn't have to mean buying specialist "superfoods" or expensive supplements.
As Mr Murphy explains: "Even the common tomato has been shown to have amazing health benefits.
"It contains a vito-chemical called lycopene which has been shown to reduce cancer.
"Then you've got broccoli, which is renowned as being a very good food for reducing the risk of cancer and stroke and keeping blood pressure low.
"I know a lot of people are on budgets nowadays so what's wrong with the common banana and an apple?"
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