We all know about the benefits of a healthy diet. 'We are what we eat', so some say. But sometimes our busy lives mean our healthy intentions slip, and we end up eating the wrong things. Messaging telling us to eat our 'five-a-day' encourages us to maintain a balanced diet – but is it accurate?

我们都知道健康饮食的好处。有人说，“我们就是我们吃的东西”。但有时我们忙碌的生活意味着我们的健康意图会消失，最终我们会吃错东西。告诉我们“一天五顿”的信息鼓励我们保持均衡饮食——但这准确吗？

If you're not sure what your 'five-a-day' is, it's a campaign based on advice from the World Health Organization which recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day. That should lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. Variety is important because different fruits and vegetables contain different combinations of fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.

如果您不确定自己的“每日五份”是什么，这是一项基于世界卫生组织建议的运动，该组织建议每天至少吃 400 克水果和蔬菜。这应该会降低出现严重健康问题的风险，例如心脏病、中风和某些类型的癌症。品种很重要，因为不同的水果和蔬菜含有不同的纤维、维生素、矿物质和其他营养素的组合。

Eating five pieces of fruit and veg is something to aim for. An analysis of 16 worldwide studies suggested that for every portion of fruit and vegetables consumed, there was a lower risk of premature death. And in the UK, previous research by the University of Oxford found around 33,000 lives a year could be saved if everyone in the UK followed dietary guidelines. Dr Peter Scarborough told the BBC: "According to our model, the biggest impact would be eating more fruit and veg. But this doesn't mean you should just stop at five – the more the better."

吃五块水果和蔬菜是我们的目标。对全球 16 项研究的分析表明，每吃一份水果和蔬菜，过早死亡的风险就会降低。在英国，牛津大学之前的研究发现，如果英国每个人都遵循饮食指南，每年大约可以挽救 33,000 条生命。彼得·斯卡伯勒博士告诉英国广播公司：“根据我们的模型，最大的影响是吃更多的水果和蔬菜。但这并不意味着你应该只吃五点——越多越好。”

However, there are some doubts about the 'five-a-day' message. Some fruits and vegetables are better than others. And counting orange juice, for example, as one of your portions isn't so beneficial because it contains sugar. Also, eating more vegetables than fruit tends to be better because they're richer in nutrients. Some doctors also say the message is too ambitious, and a 'two-a-day' message might be a more realistic starting point.

不过，对于“一日五”的消息也存在一些质疑。有些水果和蔬菜比其他水果和蔬菜更好。例如，将橙汁算作你的一份食物并不那么有益，因为它含有糖。此外，多吃蔬菜往往比吃水果更好，因为蔬菜营养更丰富。一些医生还表示，这一信息过于雄心勃勃，“一天两次”的信息可能是一个更现实的起点。

There have been calls to up the quota to seven-a-day, but research reported in The British Medical Journal found after five portions a day, there was no further impact. But whatever fruit and vegetables you consume, every piece can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. As the old saying goes: 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'.

有人呼吁将配额增加到每天七份，但英国医学杂志报道的研究发现，每天五份后，没有进一步的影响。 但无论您吃什么水果和蔬菜，每一块都有助于降低患心血管疾病和癌症的风险。 俗话说：“一日一苹果，医生远离我”。

diet （日常）饮食
we are what we eat “人如其食”，想健康，得吃好
intention 意愿
five-a-day “每天五份果蔬”，世界卫生组织为增强健康饮食意识而发起的每日至少食用 400g 水果或蔬菜的宣传活动
balanced diet 均衡饮食
fruit 水果
vegetable 蔬菜
heart disease 心脏病
stroke 中风
cancer 癌，癌症
fibre （食物的）纤维素
vitamin 维生素
mineral 矿物质
nutrient 营养物
premature 过早的
dietary guidelines 膳食指南
beneficial 有益的
ambitious 要求过高的，需要极大努力才能完成的
cardiovascular disease 心血管疾病
an apple a day keeps the doctor away “一天一苹果，医生远离我”，每天吃苹果有助于保持健康