Healthy Eating Tips

Admit it.  When Gillian McKeith lays out her victims' food intake for the week we've all thought 'What would mine look like?'

If you'd like to pass the McKeith test, read our informed guide to a healthy diet.  You'll not only give your family the best chance of good health, you'll   help promote a positive outlook on life both now and for the future...

Learning to eat well
Together with reasonable exercise, a varied and balanced diet is crucial for achieving your ideal healthy weight. The key to a healthy lifestyle and keeping your weight in check is following a balanced diet that includes all the right foods in the right amounts combined with moderate exercise.

What is a 'balanced' diet?

The term 'balanced diet' is one of those health mantras that is constantly heard but rarely explained. What it means is a diet that includes a combination of several different food types, including grains and pulses, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy products, fats and oils.

Food facts "You should eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Remember frozen, canned food fruit and vegetables can count as well"

What do you need to eat every day for a balanced diet?

Carbohydrates such as bread, other cereals and potatoes
Fruit and vegetables
Dairy such as milk and dairy foods
Protein such as meat, fish and alternative proteins
Fats and sugars such as those in margarine

All in proportion - how much of each should we eat every day?

Crucial to the idea of a balanced diet is including foods in the right proportions.  The aim is to get all the nutrients your body needs while maintaining a healthy weight. 

It isn't a case of having roughly equal measures of everything. There should be a lot of some foods and just a little of others. Some fats and oils, for example, are important in the diet for various reasons, including absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. But you only need a small amount compared with foods such as vegetables.

Food facts "eating at least three servings of wholegrain foods each day could reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers by up to 30 per cent"

In decreasing order we should have:

Carbohydrates which provide the body with energy and fresh fruit and vegetables which are low in fat, calories and salt, and an excellent source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Most of us don't eat enough to meet the current recommendation of three to five servings of vegetables and two to four servings of fruit a day.

Dairy and then protein-rich foods are needed in more moderate amounts. Your diet should include two to three servings of milk or dairy produce a day, for example. Take care that protein-rich foods don't bring a lot of fat with them; trim the fat off meat and take the skin off chicken. Think about how you cook foods too; meat fried or in breadcrumbs adds extra fat.

Minimal fats and sugars. 

 Food Facts "want to eat more wholegrains but aren't sure what they are?

Wholemeal bread, oats, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice, pot barley, sweetcorn, pure rye crackers and oat or brown rice cakes all count"

How much is a serving?

The size of a serving of some foods, especially fruit, is easy to work out; common sense is also a good guide. 
e.g. one cup of milk counts as one serving, as does half a cup of pasta or a slice of bread.

How many servings we need of each food group every day depends on our age, gender and level of activity.

Starting early with healthy eating

The earlier the message about eating a healthy, balanced diet is drummed in, the better. Children form habits very quickly and, once set, bad ones are difficult to shift. 

The goal

Don't forget what you're trying to achieve:

  - a variety of foods
  - plenty of grains, vegetables and fruits
  - low fat intake, especially saturated fats
  - moderate sugar intake
  - moderate salt intake
  - keep a lid on alcohol intake

_______________________________________________________________

Do YOU have any healthy eating tips you'd like to share?  Click here to visit our forums or why not post a quick comment below....

________________________________________________________________

Useful Sites and Books

 'The GI Diet:  The Easy, Healthy Way to Permanent Weight Loss' by Rick Gallop.  Click here for details

'The Food Doctor Ultimate Diet:  Changing the Way You Eat for Good' by Ian Marber.  Click here for details

The BBC website has extensive information on diet.  Click here to visit

The Food Standards Agency website offers comprehensive info on all aspects of a healthy diet.  Click here to visit