Author Barry Groves has upset the apple cart by claiming five fruit and veg a day could kill you.

Mr Groves, 72, from Milton-under-Wychwood, publishes his sixth book, Trick or Treat: How Healthy Eating is Making Us Ill, on Thursday.

And in it he turns most of the healthy eating mantras — such as making sure we eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, avoiding fat and eating whole grains — on their head.

The former West Oxfordshire district councillor obtained a doctorate in nutritional science from distance-learning Trinity College and University, registered in the US, whose website said it awarded degrees based on experience.

Mr Groves said: "This is probably my most controversial book to date, but it contains over 1,100 references from respected medical journals and research which is all based in fact.

"I believe if more people followed a diet like mine, instead of believing the myths that have been propagated by the medical and pharmaceutical industries, fewer people would be dying of diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer."

For breakfast, Mr Groves and his wife Monica, 70, might tuck into eggs and bacon fried in lard, followed by cocoa with double cream.

For lunch, they might eat full-fat cheese salad, eggs or meat with the fat left on and vegetables cooked in butter. And for dinner they may enjoy more full fat cheese with a piece of home-grown fruit and cream — and more cocoa.

Mr Groves said: "Our diet and the diet I promote in my lectures and other books is high in animal fats and protein, low in margarines and cooking oils, low in processed foods and low in vegetables and sweet fruits.

"People do not realise, but many fruits are full of fructose, which has been linked to the rise in obesity.

"Vegetable oils and margarines, particularly when they are heated, are the worst things you can consume.

"And wheat collects bacteria and dirt as it grows and then attracts mice and rats in silos, so it gets sprayed with insecticides."

Mr Groves said eating vegetables was not a problem, but that five portions a day were just not necessary and were the result of ill-founded and outdated reports.

Mr Groves discovered an interest in health and nutrition after leaving the RAF.

He said: "My wife and I gained almost two stones each after we got married and I went to see an RAF doctor for advice — he told me I would lose weight if I ate more fat and he was right.

"We have been eating this diet for more than 40 years. We are both very fit and healthy and we weigh less than when we got married."

Mr Groves' blood pressure is well below the British Heart Foundation's target, although his cholesterol level is above the BHF's recommended limit. But Mr Groves said it was more dangerous to have, within limits, a low level than a high one.

Asked how people react to his views, he said: "Unfortunately, the myths about healthy eating are so deeply ingrained in our thinking they are almost like a religion and some people are brainwashed."

PROF Jeya Henry is an expert in nutrition at Oxford Brookes University. He said: "I actually have some sympathy for Mr Groves and I like the way he is shaking our beliefs to the core because I think consumers are getting too caught up in what they are being told and we should always challenge scientific orthodoxy.

"I also believe it would be very wrong if everyone insisted on eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day if it involved them cutting out other foods from their diet — I believe in the importance of a balanced diet and people eating the right diets for their own nutritional requirements.

"Mr Groves is right when he says diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are increasing, but scientific research shows this is not just down to diet — they are failing to exercise enough.

"Eating a healthy diet is all about cut-off points and balance."

He added: "I am very interested in seeing his research and the evidence to back up his claims."

"I welcome challenging orthodoxy, but I am very interested in seeing his research and the evidence to back up his claims."

f=85 Helvetica Heavy l=8.5q=lEAT THIS! Barry Groves and what he advises people should consume|of=Helvetica s=6Picture: Damian Halliwell Order No. 211008289 oxfordmail.co.uk/photosales