HEALTH experts are stepping up their efforts to tell people about the healthy food message.
Eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day will help to keep a stroke at bay, they say.
Dieticians will hand out advice at an information stand in St Luke's Hospital, Crosland Moor, from 1.30pm to 4pm on Monday.
It is one of the activities being held by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust during Stroke Awareness Week.
According to figures, there are about 60,000 stroke deaths each year in England and Wales each year.
Nearly 10,000 people of working age have strokes.
Helen Berry, senior dietician at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, said food played a vital role in determining health.
"Increasing evidence shows that eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables help to protect against chronic diseases such as stroke," she said.
So what's a portion?
* Three heaped tablespoons of cooked vegetables, eg carrots, sweetcorn, broccoli, cabbage
* Cereal bowl of mixed salad
* Seven cherry tomatoes
* Beans and pulses count, too, but only once a day, however much you eat
* An apple, orange, pear or banana
* Half a grapefruit
* A slice of melon or pineapple
* A handful of grapes
* A tablespoon of dried fruit, eg sultanas and raisins
* A glass of pure fruit juice; it only counts as one portion, however much you drink
* Two satsumas, two plums and two tablespoons of stewed fruit or fruit salad.
