Healthy Eating
A healthy balance of foods provides the energy and nourishment everyone needs to survive and to enjoy life. Eating too little food soon leads to illness, but eating too much or the wrong balance of foods can lead to many problems including obesity, high cholesterol or heart problems. So it's important to get the balance right - both in the amount and in the type of foods eaten. A healthy and balanced diet in childhood can reduce the risk of anemia and dental decay. In the longer term, it can help to prevent ill health later in life. For example, it can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, stroke and some cancers.
Guidelines for a healthy diet
Enjoy your food
Eating is an important part of everyone's lives. Food should be enjoyable as well as providing a good balance of nutrients as uneaten food will provide no nourishment at all. All foods provide some nutrients and contribute to the taste, smell, color, texture and enjoyment of a meal.
Making time to relax while eating and to share a meal with friends and family is an important part of enjoying meals.
Eat a variety of different foods
No single food provides all the nutrients required for the body to stay healthy. A mixture of different foods needs to be eaten throughout life. Choosing foods for a healthy diet doesn't mean having to give up favorite foods.
Variety is important as well as making fruit and vegetables, also foods like bread, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes the main part of the meal. Snacks as well as meals count towards the balance.
Eat the right amount to be a healthy weight
Food provides the energy (calories) used to keep the body active and functioning properly. Each person needs a different amount of energy and therefore each individual differs in the amount of food they should eat.
Energy needs are affected by gender, age, body size and activity level:
- Women tend to need less energy than men
- Older adults tend to need less energy than adolescents and young adults
- The more active a person, the greater their energy needs.
A healthy weight is best achieved and maintained by both being physically active and by not eating more calories than are used up. Not eating enough for the body's needs could lead to underweight and ill health. Overeating can cause overweight, which can lead to ill health including heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes.
Eat plenty of foods rich in starch and fiber
Foods like bread, other cereals and potatoes are rich in starch and can be good sources of fiber. Fiber is the roughage in food. Some people think of it as a scrubber that helps to keep your insides clean and running smoothly. Starch and fiber are names for groups of carbohydrates. There are different sorts of starch and fiber and these are found only in plants or foods made from plants.
Most people do not eat enough of the starchy, fiber-rich foods like bread, potatoes, rice and pasta and need to eat about half as much again. Wholegrain cereal foods are particularly rich in insoluble fiber, which helps to prevent constipation. Soluble fiber in fruit, beans and vegetables can help to reduce the amount of cholesterol in the blood.
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
There is good evidence that diets rich in fruit and vegetables reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease and possibly some cancers, in later life. Most people would benefit from increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables to twice the amount they currently eat.
Fruit and vegetables make good snack foods. A balanced diet contains at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and should include a wide variety to get a range of their protective substances. Fruit and vegetables may be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or 100% juice (juice counts only once a day as a portion).
Don't eat too many foods that contain a lot of fat
A completely fat free diet does not support life, as certain fats are essential to health, some contain vitamins, and fats also help to make foods pleasant to eat. However, many people eat far more fat than they need, and a diet high in fat, especially saturated fat, in common with other factors including smoking and lack of exercise, can increase the risk of heart disease.
Fat is high in calories and eating too much can contribute to overweight. Visible fat, like the fat on meats or in fat spreads is easy to spot, but there is also a lot of fat hidden in foods like pies, pastries, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some meat products like sausages and burgers and their vegetarian alternatives. Checking the labels and choosing lower fat versions whenever possible is a good way to reduce fat in the diet.
Don't have sugary foods and drinks too often
Tooth decay is caused by the interaction of sugar and dental plaque. Each time sugar enters the mouth, acid is produced by plaque bacteria which can eventually produce a cavity.
Frequency of eating sugar has more influence than the amount eaten in total.
Good dental health can be maintained by:
- Reducing the frequency of sugar consumption
- Brushing twice daily with a fluoride toothpaste
- Visiting the dentist at least once a year
- Coating baby teeth to prevent cavities (ask your dentist)
Frequent consumption of acidic drinks (fruit squashes, fruit juices, fizzy drinks and colas) may cause tooth erosion which is when the surface of the teeth dissolves gradually. Water and milk will not erode teeth, and acidic drinks are best kept to meal times.
Because sugars contain calories and no other nutrients, it is sensible for people who are overweight to cut down on their intake of sugar and sugary foods and drinks.
Don't eat too many foods high in salt, and cut down on amount of salt added in cooking and at the table
The average intake of salt is about 9g per day (about two teaspoons). Eating too much sodium, most of which comes from salt, can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. Some salt is needed in the diet but this 6g can easily be met by the salt which occurs naturally in foods.
On average it is recommended to reduce salt intake by a third. The amount of salt added in cooking and at the table should be cut down. Herbs and spices can be useful as substitutes.
As about two thirds of the salt in the diet comes from manufactured foods like soups, sauces, ready meals and meat products, choosing fewer of these foods or looking for lower salt versions will help to reduce the salt intake.
Additional resources for Healthy Eating:
- http://www.cnpp.usda.gov
- http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/cpa/publications
- http://www.realtime.net/anr/10eattip.html