Healthy Lifestyles
Eating healthily does not need to be difficult, expensive or tasteless. In fact just 8 simple steps can get you on the way to a healthy balanced diet:
1. Base your meal on starchy foods such as breakfast cereals,
bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam or plantain.
2. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
3. Eat more fish, and try to include oily fish at least once
each week.
4. Cut down on saturated (often called bad) fat and sugar.
5. Try to eat less salt – no more than 6g per day (about one
teaspoon).
6. Get active and try to be a healthy weight.
7. Drink plenty of water and other fluids.
8. Don’t skip breakfast.
Child or adult, sporty or not, healthy eating is for everyone. Choosing the right balance of foods is essential in keeping ourselves healthy.
Find out more about Healthy Eating here.
Active Living
Regular physical activity is good for both your physical health and mental wellbeing. People of all ages can benefit from regularly taking part in all activities of moderate intensity. For example you can swim, cycle, run, walk or go to the gym as all activity counts, including ironing, gardening and cleaning the house. Aim for at least 30 minutes exercise or physical activity on five days each week. The good news is that this could be three ten minute bursts, two 15 minute bursts or one 30 minute session, whatever suits you best and fits in with your lifestyle. Just make sure that your heart rate increases and usually you feel a little puffed out afterwards!
Breakfast
When you wake up in the morning, it's likely that you haven't eaten for up to 12 hours. So the first meal of the day is crucial, because it helps refuel the body and brain with energy and nutrients after a night's sleep. Research studies have shown that people (both adults and children) who eat breakfast are generally more alert and in a better mood than those who skip breakfast. Children are able to work harder and do better at school and adults respond more effectively to the challenges of their day (whether at work or in the home).
Snacking
Many of us feel guilty for snacking, assuming that all snack foods are bad and that these have a negative impact on the healthiness of our diets. However snacking is not a new phenomenon and is a perfectly normal part of the diets of both adults and children. Snacking can in fact have a useful nutritional role, boosting the intakes of a range of essential vitamins and minerals in the diet.
