Healthy eating
What we put into our body reflects how we look and feel on the inside and out. Have you heard of the saying ‘you are what you eat’? If you overload on junk such as crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and fast food, it will show in your skin, hair and of course, your shape and size. Your skin will look greasy and spotty and you will feel bloated and eventually gain weight – perhaps even resulting in obesity.
At the same time, not eating enough can be just as bad. If you are constantly counting the calories, skipping meals or finding excuses not to eat, you could be suffering from an eating disorder.
Obesity and anorexia can cause severe damage to the body’s internal organs and, in extreme cases, death. It’s important that you develop good eating habits, especially if you want your children to eat sensibly.
Getting the balance right
You don’t have to stop eating food you enjoy – you just need to get the balance right and perhaps try new healthy foods that you may not have tried before. It’s all about moderation.
Take a look at the 5 main food groups below and discover how each food type fuels the body. By following the guidelines, you’ll always maintain a healthy weight and have that feel good factor.
1. Carbohydrates (Bread, cereals, potatoes, rice, pasta and noodles)
These foods are your body’s main source of energy. There are two types of carbohydrates.
Refined carbohydrates:
The high fibre content has been removed from the grain and includes white bread, white pasta white rice and sugary cereals. You shouldn’t eat too many refined carbohydrates. Instead, swap them for unrefined carbohydrates.
Unrefined carbohydrates
These are wholegrains and high fibre and includes wholegrain rice, wholegrain bread, wholewheat pasta and porridge oats. Unrefined carbohydrates are ‘good’ carbohydrates and they keep you fuller for longer. You should include unrefined carbohydrates in your daily intake.
This food group should make up the bulk of your diet according to nutritionists (47 to 50 per cent).
2. Fruit and Vegetables
These foods are full of fibre, vitamins and minerals and low in calories. You should eat at least 5 portions every day and they can be fresh, tinned, frozen, cooked, dried or juiced.
3. Protein (meat, fish, eggs, soya, pulses, beans, nuts, seeds)
Protein helps to build and repair the body. Meat, fish and eggs are high in protein. Pulses, nuts and seeds are lower in protein.
Health professionals recommend that 10 to 15 per cent of your daily diet is protein based so you should include it in one or two meals every day.
4. Milk and Dairy (milk, cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais)
This food type is essential for calcium intake which strengthens your teeth, bones, muscles and nerves. As you get older, your bone density decreases which can cause the brittle bone disease, osteoporosis. It is vital that teenage girls in particular, ensure they have enough calcium in their diet to ensure healthy bones later in life.
The Department of Health recommend at least 700mg of calcium a day to ensure good health. So, a pint of milk, 2 small pots of yoghurt or 80g of hard cheese is enough. It doesn’t matter if it’s full fat or low fat – the calcium content remains the same for both.
5. Fats and Sugars (butter, lard, margarine, cheese, whole milk, vegetable oils)
You should opt for unsaturated fats rather that saturated fats. These include vegetable oils (sunflower, sesame, olive and soft margarine). They can also be found in some fish (mackeral, sardines, pilchards, salmon).
Saturated fats can be found in butter, lard, cheese and whole milk and a high intake of these fats has been linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
Fats should make up no more than 35 per cent of your daily diet. Try to swap whole milk for semi-skimmed or skimmed and choose low fat spreads and vegetable oil instead of butter and lard.
Sugar can be found in cakes, biscuits, chocolate, pies and pastries. You should opt for healthy alternatives such as fruit.