Q: We always hear about the importance of eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. I have two pieces of fruit and drink three glasses of juice a day. Am I eating enough?

A: Unfortunately not — but you’re not alone. The average UK intake of fruit and vegetables is only about 2.8 portions, despite the advice that five portions can protect against heart disease, cancer and bowel problems.

The advice about fruit and veg suggests not only at least five portions (a portion is about the size of your fist or 80g in weight) but also a variety of fruit and veg a day so you can get all the health benefits from the different vitamins, fibre and micronutrients they offer. Fruit juice will only give you one portion daily, no matter how many glasses you drink.

Brussels sprouts and cabbages have found a new role in the war against breast cancer.

They have already been suggested as possible aids in preventing the disease. Now scientists say they may also be capable of treating it. Researchers at the University of Lancaster fed cancer cells with doses of around 350mg of the natural compound 13C, roughly the same amount found in a trolley full of cabbages. When the compound was used together with common chemotherapy drugs, the tumour cells died. Although further studies are needed the potential benefits are clear. The compound 13C is also found in broccoli, cauliflower and kale.

Making walnuts part of a balanced diet can help counteract the damage to arteries caused by fatty food new research says.

Over time fat molecules harden the arteries leading to heart disease. But walnuts contain a nutrient that helps the body produce nitric oxide —which helps keep blood vessels flexible. In tests, 24 healthy adults were fed high fat meals with either olive oil or eight shelled walnuts. Both helped to reduce the inflammation of arteries that follows a meal high in fat and leads to hardening. But walnuts were also found to help preserve elasticity and flexibility of blood vessels.

Walnuts contain arginine which is used by the body to produce nitric oxide. They also provide a form of omega 3 which is not found in olive oil.