Download Eatwell - Eight Tips For Making Healthier Choices Along with the

 Eatwell - Eight Tips For Making Healthier Choices
Along with the Eatwell plate the Government has also produced the
following 8 tips for making healthier choices. They cover all aspects of
eating a healthy, varied and balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight.
1. Base your meals on starchy foods
Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes and
chapattis are an important part of a healthy diet. Most of us need to eat
more starchy foods. Try to include at least one starchy food with each of
your main meals.
For example, you could:
Start the day•with a wholegrain breakfast cereal, such as
porridge, wheat biscuits or shredded wheat;
Have a sandwich
• or cous cous salad for lunch;
And go for potatoes,
pasta or rice with your evening meal.
•
However, be careful when adding fat to starchy types of foods
such as butter or margarine on bread; or chips that are fried in oil. This
increases the fat and energy content of these foods, and we should all be
trying to decrease the amount and type of fat we eat.
For more information on starchy foods see the ‘Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta
and other starchy foods’ section in the ‘Read more’ section.
2. Eat lots of fruit and veg
We should eat AT LEAST 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Most people in the UK need to be eating more.
A guide to what counts as a portion is the amount that fits in the
palm of your hand. This is useful as it works for children, young people
and adults.
You can choose from fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced types of
fruit and vegetables as they all count!
It is important to eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables to get a
range of nutrients that your body needs to be fit and healthy and function
properly. To reach your 5 A DAY, you could have:
A glass of fruit juice and dried fruit on cereal at breakfast;
A side salad at lunch;
A pear as an afternoon snack;
A portion of fresh, frozen or canned vegetables with your evening
meal.
For more information on fruit and vegetables see the ‘Fruit and vegetable’
section in the ‘Read more’ section.
3. Eat more fish, including one portion of oily fish a week
Most of us should be eating more fish. Aim for at least two portions
of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish. A portion is 140g.
You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned – but remember that
canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.
White fish e.g. cod, haddock, plaice, whiting and halibut, is low in fat
and energy. It is also a good source of protein and provides a variety of
important nutrients.
Oily fish e.g. salmon, trout, sardines, pilchards and mackerel, is a
good source of omega 3 fatty acids, protein and other important nutrients.
For more information on fish and other protein rich foods see the ‘Meat, fish,
eggs, beans and other non dairy sources of protein’ section in the ‘Read more’
section.
4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
Saturated fat
To stay healthy we need some fat in our diets. What is important is the
kind of fat we are eating. We all need to eat less saturated fat. This is because
a diet high in saturated fat is linked to high cholesterol levels. Having high
cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease, such as a heart attack.
Saturated fat is found in the following foods:
Meat and meat products, for example meat pies, sausages and
burgers;
Butter, lard and ghee; Cheese;
Biscuits, cakes and pastry;
Cream, soured cream and crème fraiche; Coconut
oil, coconut cream and palm oil.
You can reduce the amount of saturated fat in your diet by:
Removing excess, visible fat from meat e.g. removing skin from
chicken;
Using reduced fat cheeses;
Cooking with vegetable oils, such as sunflower, vegetable or olive oil, rather than butter, lard
or ghee;
Swapping cream, soured cream or crème fraiche for low fat yogurt
or reduced fat crème fraiche;
Eating foods that are high in unsaturated fat instead such as
avocadoes, nuts, seeds and oily fish.
Sugar
Most people in the UK are eating too much sugar. We should all be
trying to eat fewer foods containing added sugar, such as sweets, cakes,
chocolate and biscuits, and drinking fewer sugary soft and fizzy drinks. In
some foods and drinks sugar is found naturally, such as milk and fruit juice.
These types of foods and drinks do not need to be reduced in the diet as the
sugar is found naturally in them and is not added.
One reason for reducing the amount of sugary foods and drinks in your
diet is because these foods increase the risk of developing tooth decay,
especially if you eat them between meals. Another reason is that sugary
foods and drinks contain a lot of energy and if this is not used up the sugar
is converted to fat and stored by the body. If this occurs regularly then weight
increases leading to overweight and obesity.
For more information on fat and sugar see the ‘Food and drinks high in fat
and/or sugar’ section in the ‘Read more’ section.
5. Try to eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults
Adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day and children under
the age of 11 should have even less than this.
Having too much salt can potentially raise your blood pressure. High
blood pressure is linked to an increased risk of developing heart
disease or having a stroke.
About 75% of the salt we eat comes from processed food, such as
soups, sauces, bread, biscuits, pizzas, ready meals and some
breakfast cereals. So you could easily be eating too much salt without
realising it. Check food labels and go for lower salt options when you can.
For more information on salt see the ‘Salt’ section in the ‘Read more’ section.
6. Get active and try to be a healthy weight
Being physically active can help to control weight and uses up extra
energy. Most people need to be more active.
The Government recommends that children do 60 minutes of
moderate intensity physical activity e.g. walking, swimming, cycling,
dancing, each day of the week.
For adults the recommendation is 30 minutes of moderate intensity
physical activity on at least 5 days of the week.
The recommended amount of activity does not have to be taken all in
one go. For example, an adult could walk for 15 minutes in the
morning and cycle for 15 minutes in the evening.
7. Drink plenty of water
Aim to drink 1.2 litres or 6 – 8 glasses of fluid per day. This replaces
fluid that is lost throughout the day in sweat, breathing and going to the toilet.
Water, fruit juice, fruit smoothies, milk, tea, coffee and low calorie drinks al
count towards your daily fluid intake.
Not drinking enough can cause headaches, make you feel less alert
and make it hard to concentrate.
When the weather is warm or when we are active, our bodies need
more fluid. But avoid drinking soft and fizzy drinks that are high in added
sugar.
8. Don’t skip breakfast
Breakfast helps to give us energy for the day, as well as some of
the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.
Studies have shown that skipping breakfast affects the ability to
concentrate and be alert.