Food and drink

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best, especially when allied to regular exercise.

This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

There is lots of advice out there on what to eat and when to eat, much if which is confusing and sometimes contradictory. Here’s what we think is some of the best advice.

NHS EAT WELL

The NHS Eatwell page covers healthy eating advice for the general population. People with special dietary needs or a medical condition should ask their doctor or a registered dietitian for advice.

The Eatwell guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
• Base meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
• Drink plenty of fluids (at least 6 to 8 glasses a day)

For more information on NHS Eatwell click here

8 TIPS TO HEALTHY EATING

These eight practical tips cover the basics of healthy eating, and can help you make healthier choices. The key to a healthy diet is to:

• Eat the right amount of calories for how active you are, so that you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use. If you eat or drink too much, you’ll put on weight. If you eat and drink too little, you’ll lose weight.
• Eat a wide range of foods to ensure that you’re getting a balanced diet and that your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

It is recommended that men have around 2,500 calories a day (10,500 kilojoules). Women should have around 2,000 calories a day (8,400 kilojoules). Most adults are eating more calories than they need, and should eat fewer calories.

The 8 tips for healthy eating are here

CHANGE 4 LIFE HEALTHY RECIPES

The Change 4 Life recipes page, provides loads of great ideas that are cheap and very easy to do, to help you substitute unhealthy foods for healthy alternatives. There is also a useful App that is free to download, containing over 160 quick and healthy meal ideas.

To change your life with healthy recipes click here