Need a brain and body boost? Try for 5

  By Geraldine Alphonse Most Australians are  eating only half the  amount of vegetables they need. Nutrition Australia’s annual ‘Try for 5′ campaign, which starts this week,  aims to encourage Australians to up their  daily vegetable consumption  to five  serves a day between meals. They say spring is the perfect time to snack on in-season broccoli, artichokes, asparagus, beetroot, cauliflower and spinach. Eating extra serves of vegetables every day day reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by four per cent, the risk of mortality by five per cent and the risk of having a stroke by 11 per cent, researchers say. Workers and their employers are being targeted by the campaign to take part in activities such as the ‘Try for 5 game‘ and the ‘Try for 5 challenge‘ which involves workshops where they can learn how to prepare healthy and nutritive meals. Perth-based administration officer of Nutrition Australia Sally Ham  says Try for 5 adopted a different approach this year. “The strategies we are taking differently this year are through the use of social media and online platforms, which gives us the possibility to use the hashtag #Tryfor5 and allows us to spread the message faster across the nation,” she said. Bayer Australia, the global company that specialises in the Life Science fields of Health and Agriculture, is uniting with Nutrition Australia this year to sponsor the program and convince Australians of the importance of adopting a healthier lifestyle. It says a standard serve of food needs to include about 75 grams of vegetables, which is equivalent to 100- 350 kilojoules (KJ). Nutrition Australia’s first Webinar “Eat, to beat exams” focuses on the best food for students to boost their brain-power and concentrate for longer. If you want to know more about the try for 5 campaign  and try some of this week‘s challenge go to: http://www.nutritionaustralia.org