The Good Life: The best way to guarantee you're getting the best out of your fruit and vegetable intake is by growing your own, writes Sarah Marriott in the first part of a new series
We all know about eating five portions of fruit and veg a day, but how much good is that cabbage really doing to strengthen our immune system? How healthy is a lettuce washed in chlorine? And should we really have to pay more for tomatoes or apples "grown for flavour"?
Thanks to modern farming methods, which depend on bags of fertilisers rather than healthy soil packed with minerals and trace elements, many vegetables we eat today contain fewer nutrients and more chemical residues - and have less taste - than those our parents enjoyed. The solution is to buy organic when you can or grow your own.
"Herbs and vegetables that you grow on your own windowsill or in your own backyard are powerhouses of nutrients while being low in calories," says Dr Prannie Rhatigan, cardiovascular strategy co-ordinator of the HSE North Western Area.
"They can be easily grown and you can be confident that they're free from all chemical sprays and pesticides." A Cox apple, for example, could have been sprayed 16 times before it reaches a supermarket.
The health benefits of eating fruit and veg are immeasurable, says Dr Rhatigan. Increasing our daily intake of vegetables and fruit lowers the long-term risk of a range of conditions, from cancer, heart disease and stroke to hypertension and obesity.
"It is estimated that diet may contribute to the development of one-third of all cancers. Increasing vegetable and fruit intake is the second most important cancer-prevention strategy after reducing smoking. The active components for cancer prevention include vitamins, minerals, fibre, plant sterols and antioxidants - all of which are found in vegetables," she says.
The length of time since harvesting can affect your health. Mangetout that have flown more than 4,000 miles from Africa contain significantly fewer vitamins than those picked just minutes before eating.
Even much of the organic produce in our shops has come on long refrigerated journeys from warmer climates. Research shows that frozen veg such as broccoli, sweetcorn, peas, carrots and cauliflower have a higher vitamin content than "fresh" equivalents imported from mainland Europe.
The health of the planet benefits when we grow our own fruit and veg. New potatoes from Egypt, carrots from South Africa and lettuce from the US use vast amounts of non-renewable fuel - but home-grown produce travels only a few feet from the soil to our table. And because your own vegetables don't need to be protected during their journey to the kitchen, you can cut down on plastic packaging.
"It's a satisfying experience from start to finish," says Dr Rhatigan, who grows veg in her own garden because she enjoys feeling in touch with nature. "Choosing what to grow, planting the seed or buying the seedlings, nurturing the plants and eating the results is something to be enjoyed by all the family - even the youngest member of the household can have early responsibility for weeding, watering and warding off pests. Children are more likely to eat what they have grown and cut themselves."
In our time-poor lifestyles, eating five portions of fruit and veg a day is sometimes difficult but it becomes easier if you can simply pop outside the door to pick a few leaves for a salad or Chinese greens for a stir-fry.
Starting to grow some of your own food is easy. You don't have to dig up your suburban lawn and plant rows of spuds and cabbages or abandon a city-slicker lifestyle for the "good life" battling slugs in Sligo to become a veggie grower. What about herbs on a windowsill or a balcony? Salad leaves in a pot outside the back door? Alpine strawberries edging a flower bed? Tomatoes in a hanging basket? Mangetout mixed with sweet peas? Alfalfa sprouts in your kitchen?
The possibilities are endless and you'll be able to throw away those vitamin pills.