According to the UK government's Department of Health, "increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of many chronic diseases."

"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."

Dietary supplements containing isolated vitamins or minerals do not appear to have the same beneficial effects as fruit and vegetables themselves.

Below are the UK government's Department of Health examples of portion sizes of everyday fruit. For more information on fruit and vegetable portions see the full guidelines at the Department of Health's website.

Apple - 1 medium apple
Banana - 1 medium banana
Blueberries - 2 handfuls (4 heaped tablespoons)
Grapes - 1 handful
Kiwi fruit - 2 Kiwi fruit
Mango - 2 slices (2-inch slice)
Orange - 1 orange
Passion fruit - 5 to 6 fruit
Peach - 1 medium peach
Pear - 1 medium pear
Pineapple - 1 large slice
Raspberries - 2 handfuls
Strawberry - 7 strawberries