A well-balanced diet should include a vibrant selection of fruit for a healthy heart. The variety of fruit available today is far greater than ever before so selecting your favourites is easy.
Knowing how much fruit to eat as part of a balanced diet is so important. So what is a portion? How many portions should you eat?
How to Choose Fruit for a Healthy Heart
The professional opinion, supported by research by BHF, is a well-balanced diet should include at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. The recommendation is to change the types of fruit you eat to ensure you are getting a good mix of nutrients, tastes and variety in your diet.
A portion can easily be measured as simply a ‘handful’ of the fruit. If you were to weigh this, it would be approximately 80g or 3oz per portion. Knowing what this looks like is so important so one portion could be any of the following.
- 7-8 juicy strawberries
- 1 ripe pear
- 1 crunchy apple
- 1 sweet orange
Pure unsweetened fruit juice, pulses and beans count as a portion. Just remember, they only make up a maximum of one of your five a day, however much you eat in one day.
There is a misconception that fruit must always be fresh to give you the most benefits. However, fresh, frozen, dried or tinned fruit can all be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet. Tinned fruit often comes in tins with juices so it is important to check the sugar content of these.
About Cornwall Cardiologist
Dr Karikalan Kandasamy has served as a Consultant Cardiologist at the Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCH) for over 15 years. He is now the Clinical Governance Lead for Cardiology at RCH.
He is keen to encourage healthy diets as part of looking after the heart. If you would like to know more or make an appointment for some advice, simply click here to get in touch.
You can also read more of our blogs on leading a healthy lifestyle here.