Health experts have been telling us for years that eating our 5-a-day is the key to a healthy life, but new research has found that for maximum protection we may need to increase this.

The Government’s 5-a-day initiative came after the World Health Organisation recommended that individuals include 14oz of vegetables in a daily diet. However, a more recent study has found that to achieve maximum defence against heart disease you need to eat around eight daily servings.

Though eating five portions of fruit and veg a day has significant health benefits, a study found that those eating eight or more a day had a 22 per cent lower chance of dying from heart disease than those who ate the UK average of three portions per day.

The findings are taken from an ongoing European investigation which is looking into the diet and health of 300,000 people in eight countries.

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