Downham Nutrition Partnership

Looking Good, Feeling Fine!

Healthy Eating Information

More detailed information on healthy eating can be found at the websites listed under the "website links" page

Why eat healthily?

Food is essential for life, but what type of food you eat is also important. Would you run a car on the wrong petroel? Then make sure you fuel your body with the right food!

Quite literally, "we are what we eat". When we eat food, it is converted into building blocks for our body - it enables us to grow, and for cells to be repaired and renewed. It is also converted to energy, allowing us to move and carry out activities.

Therefore, eating healthily is important as it:

Enhances our sense of general wellbeing - it makes you feel good!

Helps you to maintain a healthy body weight

Reduces the risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes, osteoporosis, and tooth disease

Has a positive effect on behaviour and brain health

Therefore helps us to live a longer and healthier life!

What is healthy eating?

A healthy diet consists of a variety of foods so you are able to get all the nutrients your body needs. It is important to eat the right amount of food for how active you are.

Follow these 8 basic tips to achieve a healthy diet, and read on for more information.

1) Eat lots of fruit and vegetables

2) Base your meals on starchy foods

3) Eat more fish

4) Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

5) Try to eat less salt - no more than 6g per day

6) Get active and try to be a healthy weight

7) Drink plenty of water

8) Don't skip breakfast

The Eatwell Plate

The Government's Balance of Good Health (illustrated above) is a model of how to eat healthily and is based on the 8 tips for healthy eating. It shows the types and proportions of different foods that should be eaten over a period of time. The Balance of Good Health applies to all healthy individuals over five years of age, and can be gradually applied for pre-school children, but does not apply to individuals with special dietary requirements. If you are under medical supervision you should check with your doctor to see whether you should use this guide.

Fruit and Vegetables

Most of us need to eat more fruit and vegetables - aim for a third of the food you eat to come from this group, with at least one portion at each meal.

Fresh, frozen, dried, canned and 100% juice all count! Beans and pulses such as baked beans and lentils also contribute towards this group.

Aim to eat at least 5 a day!

As a guide, 80g is a portion - this is approximately a handful. E.g. 1 apple, 3 heaped tablespoons of peas or a cereal bowl of salad are each 1 portion. Servings of fruit juice can only count as 1 portion, no matter how much you drink. Beans and pulses can only count once per day, no matter how many different types you eat.

Fruit and veg are rich in vitamins and minerals, so they protect against chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancers. They are also low in fat! So get munching on more fruit and veg!

Some vitamins and minerals can be easily lost when fruit and vegetables are prepared or cooked, so try to remember:

eat fresh fruit and veg as soon as possible rather than storing for a long time - or use frozen instead

don't overcook. Start with boiling water and cover tightly to keep in the steam, because this speeds up the cooking. You could use a steamer or a microwave

use as little water as possible when you cook fruit and veg. If you use the cooking water for sauce or soup, you'll recapture some of the lost vitamins and minerals

avoid leaving any vegetables open to the air, light or heat if they have been cut. Always cover and chill them. But don't soak, because vitamins and minerals can dissolve away

don't keep food hot for too long because vitamin levels start to drop within a few minutes

Bread, Other cereals and potatoes

Starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice, cereals and potatoes are a very important part of a healthy diet. However, we should choose wholegrain varieties wherever possible. They should contribute a third of the foods to your diet, and be present at every meal.

Yams, plantain, cous cous, sweet potato, noodles and bulgar wheat are also included in this group.

The main nutrients which we get from these foods are carbohydrates (our body's preferred energy source), fibre (keeps the gut healthy and prevents constipation) and B vitamins.

The problem with white versions of these foods is that they are refined, and so have had a large proportion of the fibre and vitamins removed. This means they are less nutritious, are not so filling and cause our blood sugars to rapidly rise (i.e high GI)

These foods themselves are not fattening, it tends to be what we put with them or do to them that cause us to consume excess calories - we fry potatoes to make chips, cover pasta in creamy sauces, add cheese to jacket potatoes and put butter or margarine on bread

Switch to high fibre, granary or brown versions

Eat more from this group

Meat, Fish and Alternatives

We should eat moderate amounts of this food group. It includes meat, poultry, fish (fresh, frozen and canned), eggs, nuts, tofu, beans and lentils.

The main nutrients we get from eating these foods are protein (for growth and repair), fat, iron (for healthy red blood cells), zinc, (for growth and repair) and vitamins.

The government recommends we should aim to eat 2 portions of fish per week. 1 of these should be oily (e.g. salmon, sardines, mackerel, fresh tuna, or trout). The reason for eating oily fish is that it contains essential omega-3 fats, which are protective for the heart. White fish is still a good protein source as it is low fat and contains other vitamins and minerals

Healthy Eating tips

Choose processed meat and fish products (e.g. burgers, nuggets, sausages, fish fingers) only occasionally, as they are likely to be higher in fat an salt

Choose lean cuts of meat

Remove any visible fat (or the skin from chicken)

Try to grill, roast or microwave meat and fish rather than frying

Drain away any visible fat or oil once cooked

Milk and dairy foods

Milk and dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are a good source of protein and vitamins A, B12 and D.

They're also an important source of calcium, which helps to keep our bones strong. The calcium in dairy foods is easy for the body to absorb.

This group does not include eggs, butter or cream, as they fall into other groups.

How much should we aim to eat? Aim for 2-3 portions of this group per day. A portion is a glass of milk (200 ml), a pot of yoghurt (150g) or a matchbox size of cheese (30g).

These foods tend to be high in fat, so choose low fat versions where you can i.e. semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, low fat yoghurt and reduced fat cheese.

Fatty and Sugary Foods

Try to eat these foods sparingly.

Of course we need treats, but these foods need to be eaten in small amounts only.

This food group includes, butter, margarines, oils, mayonnaise, pastries, chocolate, biscuits, crisps, sweets, sugary drinks and junk foods

Sugar adds flavour and sweetness to foods, but frequent consumption of sugar-containing foods and drinks is associated with an increased tendency towards tooth decay.

All fats are high in calories (even olive oil), so use only in small quantities. There are different types of fats; it is the saturated fats which are associated with heart disease. So choose fats and oils containing monounsaturates (e.g. olive and rapeseed oils) and polyunsaturates (e.g. sunflower, corn and rapeseed oils) instead of saturates. In moderation these are not associated with an increased risk of heart disease - but still use them sparingly. There are two types of essential fats, which must be supplied by the diet in small amounts: omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. found in oily fish, walnuts, omega-3 enriched eggs, and rapeseed and soya oil) and omega-6 fatty acids (e.g. found in vegetable oils such as sunflower, corn and soya oil and spreads made from these).

Healthy eating tips

Eat small quantities of these foods

Choose low fat or reduced sugar foods where possible

Use spreads and oils sparingly - opt for vegetable fats and oils

Try to limit consumption of sugar-containing foods and drinks between meals

Try not to add fat to foods when cooking

Salt

Government recommendations are that 6g of salt is the maximum amount we should eat per day (less for children). On average, we each eat 9.5g per day, so we need to try and cut down.

It's not just about the salt which you add to food during cooking or even the salt which you add at the table (although you should try and cut this). Most of the salt we eat is already in foods. Culprits include breakfast cereals, biscuits, soups, sauces and ready meals.

The main problem with salt is that it raises blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Look at labels to see how much salt is in the foods you buy and eat. You may see sodium listed rather than salt. This is because sodium is a component of salt. You need to multiply the sodium value by 2.5 to calculate the total amount of salt in the product. If the product has more than 1.25g of salt per 100g, then this is a lot!

Tips for cutting down

Check the labels on processed foods such as soups and ready meals, so you can choose those with less added salt or sodium.

Add less salt to your cooking.

Get out of the habit of adding salt to your food. Try to remember to taste it first.

Cut down on salty snacks such as crisps and nuts, and heavily salted foods such as bacon, cheese, pickles and smoked fish.

Choose tinned vegetables, pulses and fish that say 'no added salt'.

Choose lower-salt stock cubes, make your own stock, or add herbs and spices for flavour instead.

Cut down on sauces, such as cooking sauces, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sauce and ketchup because these are usually very high in salt.

Drinks

The amount of fluid we need varies from person to person - age, climate, diet and physical activity all have an influence. Intakes of 1.5 to 2 litres of fluids a day are recommended in temperate climates and this includes water and other drinks like squash, fruit juices, tea and coffee. Some of our fluid requirement comes from the food we eat, rather than drinks - this counts too.