Green Living

The Department of Health is promoting "2 plus 3". What is it actually?

The "2 plus 3" Campaign promotes healthy eating...

Q1. The Department of Health is promoting "2 plus 3" as part of healthy diet. What is it actually?

A1. It is essential to have adequate fruit and vegetable intake as part of a healthy diet. The "2 plus 3" Campaign promotes healthy eating by consuming 2 portions of fruits and 3 portions of vegetables every day.

Examples of a portion of fruit include:

2 pieces of small-sized fruits such as plum, prune
1 piece of medium-sized fruit such as apple, orange
1/2 piece of large-sized fruit such as grapefruit
1/2 cup of fruits such as grapes, strawberries, cubed watermelon

Example of a portion of vegetable include:

1 bowl of raw leafy vegetables such as lettuce
2/3 bowl of cooked vegetables such as pak choi, spinach, carrot, eggplant, snow peas

You are recommended to have fruit and/or vegetable juice without added sugar and not to have more than 1 portion a day. One portion is roughly equal to 3/4 cup of juice (1 cup equals 240 ml).

Q2. What nutrients can I get from fruit and vegetable?

A2. Fruit and vegetable are good sources of many nutrients and here are some examples:

Nutrients	Function	Sources from fruit and vegetable
Vitamin A	- Maintain health of tissues, skin and eye	Carrot, mango, papaya
Folate	- Is essential for cell growth and maintenance	Green leafy vegetables e.g. spinach
Vitamin C	- Maintain health of tissues - Act as anti-oxidant	Broccoli, bell pepper, orange, strawberry
Iron	- Is essential in the production of red blood cells	Green leafy vegetables
Calcium	- Is essential in bone health	Green leafy vegetables
Dietary fibre	- Is essential for bowel health - Help maintain cardiovascular health	Green peas, broccoli, carrot, pear, apple with skin, orange
Phytochemicals	- Act as anti-oxidents - Show many protective effects against infection and chronic diseases	Various colours of fruit and vegetable

Q3. How should I add more fruit and vegetable to my diet?

A3. Having adequate amount of fruit and vegetable as part of a balanced diet is essential to good health and can help reducing the risk of developing diseases such as heart diseases, stroke, hypertension, diabetes and certain cancers.

Here are a few tips to have more fruit and vegetables:

	Replaced with:
Potato crisp, snacks	Cherry tomatoes, baby carrot
Candies and sweets	Dried fruits such as raisin and apricot
Dessert	Fruit platter, fruit-based dessert such as strawberry and low-fat yogurt
Cream-based soup	Vegetable soup
Soft drink	Fresh fruit and/or vegetable juice without added sugar
Ham and egg sandwiches	Tomato and egg sandwiches

You are also recommended to have more fruit and vegetable dishes when preparing meals or eating out. At least one third of your meal should be vegetables and fruits. You should also have a wide range of fruit and vegetables with different colours as they provide different nutrients.

Source: Quality HealthCare