Smoothies and juices are an easy way to help you reach your 5-a-day, which is pretty handy since two thirds of us in the UK aren't getting enough fruit and veg in our diets1. If everyone did, it's been suggested that we could prevent almost half the estimated 33,000 premature deaths that come from diet-related diseases each year2.
You only need one 150ml glass of an innocent juice or smoothie to hit one of your 5-a-day. For the other four, try any fruit or veg that's fresh, frozen, dried or canned. Nature has kindly given us a whole rainbow of fruit and vegetables, so it's only polite to try as many of them as you can. Whether you prefer to eat or drink your fruit and veg, just make sure you're getting enough.
1. Gibson, S. (2012) Fruit juice consumption in the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS 2008-2010): associations with diet quality and indices of obesity and health. Proceedings of Nutrition Society, 71, ppE232.
2. O'Niel, E., Nicklas, T., Rampersaud, G.&Fulgoni, V. (2012) 100% orange juice consumption is associated with better diet quality, improved nutrition adequacy, decreased risk for obesity, and improved biomarkers of health in adults: National health and nutrition examination survey, 2003-2006. Nutrition Journal, Dec, Ahead of print.