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In this section you'll find out lots of things about fruit and vegetables and most importantly some amazing facts and figures about smoothies that you probably didn't know.
The big news is that earlier this year the Department of Health (DH) updated their guidelines on 5-a-day that smoothies can count as up to 2 portions of fruit Top Tips - 5 A DAY. This section will outline how smoothies are 2 portions of fruit and the science behind it. There are 2 science papers about how smoothies can count as 2 portions and a nice 2 portions booklet for you to look at as well. We’ll keep adding to this section as we do more research on smoothies and veg pots. If there’s anything you’d like to see on this part of our site, just fill in a form on the questions and views section and we’ll do our best to get it answered very soon.
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What is a smoothie?
Smoothies are a blend of whole crushed fruit and juice, contain at least 5 different varieties of fruit and count as 2 portions of fruit.
The Department of Health revised its smoothie portion guideline on the 7th of April 2009. According to the updated guidelines smoothies "may count as a maximum of 2 of your 5 A DAY where they contain both pure 100% fruit juice and all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable... one portion is defined as at least 150ml of fruit juice or 80g of fruit or vegetable."
TopTips-5ADAY
An innocent smoothie contains 2 portions of fruit as they have at least 1 portion of whole crushed fruit (80g) and 1 portion of juice (150ml). We try and get as much whole crushed fruit in our smoothies as possible so we do have some smoothies which have more than 80g of whole crushed fruit and the remainder of the second portion from fruit juice.
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Why is eating fruit and vegetables good for your health?
Increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of many chronic diseases
( Department of Health, 1994, Department of Health, 1998, World Health Organization, 1990). It has been estimated that eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day could reduce the risk of deaths from chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer by up to 20% (Department of Health, 2000).
It has also been estimated that diet might contribute to the development of one-third of all cancers, and that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is the second most important cancer prevention strategy, after reducing smoking (Department of Health, 2000). In 1998, the Department of Health's Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy and Nutrition (now called the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition) reviewed the evidence and concluded that higher fruit and vegetable consumption would reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. There was also weakly consistent evidence that higher fruit and vegetable consumption would reduce the risk of breast cancer. These cancers combined represent about 18% of the cancer burden in men and about 30% in women (Department of Health, 1998).
Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables also reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke (Department of Health, 1994). A study in 2001 found that each increase of 1 portion of fruit and vegetables a day lowered the risk of coronary heart disease by 4% and the risk of stroke by 6% (Joshipura et al 2001). Evidence also suggests an increase in fruit and vegetable intake can help lower blood pressure (Appel et al 1997, John et al 2002). Research suggests that there are other health benefits too, including delaying the development of cataracts, reducing the symptoms of asthma, improving bowel function, and helping to manage diabetes (Taylor et al 1995, Forastiere F et al. 2000, Department of Health. 1998, Hughes J. 2000). Some fruit and vegetables are also good sources of folate (such as green leafy vegetables and oranges). All women of childbearing age are advised to increase their consumption of foods naturally rich in folate and foods fortified with folic acid (Department of Health Expert Advisory Group, 1992). Women who are trying to conceive or who are likely to become pregnant are advised to take a daily 400 microgram supplement of folic acid until the 12th week of pregnancy. As well as the direct health benefits, eating fruit and vegetables can help to achieve other dietary goals including increasing fibre intake, reducing fat intake, help maintain a healthy weight, and substituting for foods with added sugars.
The message at the heart of the 5 A DAY programme - to eat at least 5 portions (400g) of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day - is consistent with dietary recommendations around the world, including those from the World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 1990).
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What's in fruit and veg that makes it protective?
The reason why fruit and vegetables are so beneficial is because of their array of compounds. As well as vitamins and minerals, fruit and vegetables also contain many complex plant components (called phytochemicals), including flavonoids, glucosinilates and phyto-oestrogens. Some of the vitamins and phytochemicals are also antioxidants, destroying free radicals in the body. These free radicals are known to have a role in causing cancer as well as other harmful effects. It appears that the benefits of fruit and vegetables stem not only from the individual components, but also from the interactions between these components. Dietary supplements containing isolated vitamins or minerals do not appear to have the same beneficial effects as fruit and vegetables themselves. Indeed, in some studies, supplements caused more harm than good (Department of Health, 1998).
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How many people are getting their 5 portions?
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey
The last National Diet and Nutrition Survey for children was carried out in the late 1990s (Gregory et al 1995) and for older children and adults in early 2000 (Henderson et al 2003). This looked at over 2600 kids and 3700 adults in the UK and took detailed dietary records of what people ate in a 7 day period. This is the most robust scientific data there is to date.
The survey found that:
Fruit and vegetable consumption is less than 3 portions per day (2.7 portions for men and 2.9 for women).
Only 13% of men and 15% of women are eating 5 portions a day.
All age groups fall below the recommendation of 5 portions of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake.
Excluding fruit juice, the average daily intakes of fruit and vegetables for 15-18 year olds are less than 1.4 portions for boys and less than 1.7 portions for boys and girls respectively.
The Foods Standards Agency
The Food Standards Agency carry out a consumer attitudes survey every year. The latest survey in 2008 showed that:
More than three quarters (78%) of consumers are now aware that they should be eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables each day and 58% claimed to be putting this into practice by eating at least '5-a-day'. Our eighth consumer attitudes survey
Health Survey For England
The Health Survey (commissioned by the NHS) showed that 27% of men and 31% of women actually consume five portions of fruit and veg daily (2007).
TNS World panel:
Just 12%, or one in ten of us is actually managing to get 5 portions of fruit and veg.
The TNS Usage panel data shows we are only consuming an average of 2.6 portions a day.
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So it's official. Smoothies can count as 2 portions of fruit. This next section explains exactly why and how.
How are innocent smoothies 2 portions of fruit?
There are 6 main reasons why innocent smoothies can count as 2 portions of fruit.
Every innocent smoothie:
(1) is made from 2 portions of fruit
(2) is nutritionally equivalent to fruit
(3) is a source of fibre
(4) is made from a variety of different fruits
(5) has the same GI as fruit
(6) has superior nutrition to juices
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From their constituents, an innocent smoothie is the equivalent to 2 portions of fruit. A 250ml smoothie contains at least 1 portion of whole crushed fruit (80g) and 1 portion of juice (150ml) or contains more than 80g of whole crushed fruit with the remainder of the second portion made up from fruit juice.
In order to make sure that we have 2 portions of fruit we used a fruit portion calculator to ensure that each recipe is made with 2 portions of fruit.
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Here's an example of how we get 2 portions of fruit in our strawberries & bananas recipe:
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1 ingredient can not contribute to more than 1 portion.
Juices can only contribute a maximum of 1 portion.
Crushed fruit can count as more than 1 portion.
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Smoothies have the same amount of energy and sugar as 2 portions of fruit
Due to the whole fruit content of innocent smoothies they are nutritionally equivalent to fruit. The graph below shows that a 250ml smoothie is the same as 2 portions of fruit for energy and sugar. Smoothies also contain vit C and anti-oxidants just like whole fruit.
Graph 1 : Energy, sugar and vit C of 2 portions of fruit versus smoothie
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Average of 11 innocent recipes compared to banana (l120g)* and 80g of strawberries, cherries and mango. (Source : *Food Portion Sizes by Helen Crawley (HMSO, Source: McCance and Widdowson "The Composition of Foods").
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Smoothies also have the same amount of fibre as 2 portions of fruit
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Graph 2 : Fibre of 2 portions of fruit versus 250ml smoothie
Average of 11 innocent recipes compared to banana (l120g)* and 80g of strawberries, cherries and mango. (Source : *Food Portion Sizes by Helen Crawley (HMSO, Source: McCance and Widdowson "The Composition of Foods").
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One of the reasons that juices are classed as only 1 portion of fruit under the Department of Health guidelines is because juices lack fibre. One of the biggest differences between smoothies and juices is that smoothies are a source of fibre and made from a variety of different fruits. Fibre is a still a problem nutrient in the UK with 80% of the population still not getting their guideline daily amount. Smoothie’s provide 15% of the guideline daily amount of fibre in a convenient and tasty way. Juices on the other hand contain very little fibre and cannot contribute to daily fibre intake.
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Percentage of GDA for fibre from a 250ml serving of smoothie and juice.
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Each of our recipes has at least 5 different types of fruit. The best way get the full nutritional benefits of fruit and vegetables is to eat a variety of different types.
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Variety in our recipes
There are at least 5 different types of fruit in every bottle.
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Why eat a variety of fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables come in different colours and the different colours relate to specific nutrients. To get a healthy variety, think colour. Eating fruit and vegetables of different colours gives your body a wide range of valuable nutrients, like fibre, folate, potassium, and vitamins A and C.
The Department of Health says :
"To get the best health benefits, your 5 A DAY portions should include a combination of a variety of fruit and vegetables. That's 5 portions altogether, not 5 portions of fruit and 5 portions of veg."
Why Eat 5 A DAY - 5 A DAY
The Food Standards Agency advises consumers to:
"eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables"
Food Standards Agency - Eat well, be well - Fruit and veg
The British Nutrition Foundation supports also this.
Choose a wide variety and aim to eat at least 5 different portions a day.
British Nutrition Foundation
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Just like fruit, innocent smoothies' GI ranges from low-medium. The average GI is low.
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Fruit has a range of GIs as shown in the table below
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* source: Brand-Miller, Foster-Powell and Leeds
Definition: low GI < 55, medium GI = 55 -69, high GI =70
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Juices are classed as 1 portion of fruit under the Department of Health guidelines due to the negligible fibre content and lack of variety of fruit. Innocent smoothies are fundamentally nutritionally different to juice however as they are a source of fibre, are made with a variety of different fruits and have more anti-oxidants than orange juice.
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The Department of Health revised its smoothie portion guideline on the 7th of April 2009. According to the updated guidelines smoothies "may count as a maximum of 2 of your 5 A DAY where they contain both pure 100% fruit juice and all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable... one portion is defined as at least 150ml of fruit juice or 80g of fruit or vegetable."
TopTips-5ADAY
As well as the update from the Department of Health, we also have support that smoothies can be more than 1 portion from The Foods Standards Agency:
"the Food Standards Agency advises that some smoothies may count as more than one portion, if they contain all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable. This advice is on our website.
The number of portions depends on how many fruits or vegetables were used as well as how the smoothie was made."
The British Nutrition Foundation
The BNF support that smoothies can provide up to 2 portions:
"New advice by the Department of Health states that smoothies may count as more than one portion of fruit and vegetables, where they contain pure fruit juice and all the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable.....However, individual portion smoothies can only claim to be a maximum of 2 portions of fruit and vegetables."
Click here to read more.
Scientific Publications
We have 2 science papers published on the subject of smoothies being 2 portions in Dietetics Today and The Nutrition Bulletin. To find out more, you can read both papers right here
Nutrition Bulletin
Dietetics Today
We've also made a little booklet all about why smoothies are 2 portions of fruit and you can read it right here –
a smoothie = 2 portions of fruit booklet
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Other facts:
Nutrient density
Smoothies have a high nutrient density and a low energy density. This means that for every calorie that a smoothie provides you get lots of great nutrition.
We classify nutrient density as vitamin C per portions (as per % recommended daily amount), plus fibre per portion (as a % of the GDA). Using these numbers, we can compare the nutrient density of smoothies versus juices and fruit. The chart below shows that smoothies have a higher nutrient density than fruit.
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Dental Health
There's been lots of research into juices and dental health. Recent research shows that anything that contains fruit (and this includes whole fruit) will have sugar and acids that can impact on dental health. There's now new evidence to show that there's no difference between the sugar from whole fruit (intrinsic sugar) and sugar from juice (extrinsic sugar).
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There are 3 studies in situ (i.e. in the mouth) that have looked at the differences between whole, pulped and juiced fruits.
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References:
Appel L, Moore T, Obarzanek E et al. 1997. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. New England Journal of Medicine; 336: 1117-23.
Beighton, D. *; Brailsford, S. R.; Homer, K. A.; Tarelli, E. Clearance of Sugars following the Consumption of Whole or Pulped Raw Fruits. Caries Research. 37(4):283, July/August 2003.
Department of Health Expert Advisory Group. 1992. Folic Acid and the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects. London: Department of Health.
Department of Health. 1994. Nutritional Aspects of Cardiovascular Disease. London: HMSO.
Department of Health. 1998. Nutritional Aspects of the Development of Cancer. London: The Stationery Office.
Department of Health. 2000. The NHS Plan. London: Department of Health.
Department of Health. 2000. NHS Cancer Plan. London: Department of Health.
Forastiere F et al. 2000. Consumption of fresh fruit rich in vitamin C and wheezing symptoms in children (Italian studies on respiratory disorders in children and the environment). Thorax; 55: 102-08.
Gregory, J.R., Collins, D.L., Davies, P.S.W, Hughes, J.M., Clarke, P.C., 1995, National Diet and Nutrition Survey.
Henderson L, Irving K, Gregory J, 2003 The national diet and nutrition survey for adults aged 19 to 64 years.
Hughes J. 2000 (unpublished). The Case for Increasing the Population Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables and the Evidence for the Effectiveness of Interventions. Prepared for the Department of Health.
Hussein I, Pollard MA, Curzon ME, A comparison of the effects of some extrinsic and intrinsic sugars on dental plaque pH, Int J Paediatr Dent. 1996 Jun;6(2):81-6.
Issa AI, Toumba KJ, Preston A et al. (2003) Poster presentation (at the ORCA 50th Annual Congress in Konstanz, Germany) entitled: comparison of the effects of whole and juiced fruits and vegetables on enamel demineralisation in situ. Caries Research 37: 283 (Abstract No 47).
John J, Ziebland S, Yudkin P, Roe L, Neil H. 2002. Effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on plasma antioxidant concentrations and blood pressure: a randomised controlled trial. The Lancet; 359: 1969-74.
Joshipura KJ, Hu FB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Speizer FE, Colditz G,
Ascherio A, Rosner B, Spiegelman D, Willett WC. 2001. The effect of fruit and vegetable intake on risk for coronary heart disease. Annals of Internal Medicine; 134: 1106-14.
Taylor A, Jacques P, Epstein E. 1995. Relations among ageing, antioxidant status and cataract. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 62 (supp): 1439-47s.
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