Healthy Eating

Eating healthy is not compliated and all you need is a balanced diet. A balanced diet includes eating meat, vegetables, carbohydrates, dairy, fat (yes fat is important), vitamins and minerals. Nutrition is very important to keep healthy. Without the proper nutrition your body cannot function properly. This means it can’t grow, repair and defend itself.

What is food?

The easiest answer is that food is energy.

FOOD = ENERGY

Our body needs energy to function and live and you get this energy from the food you eat. Different foods give you different things. Food is where your body gets all the nutrients it needs to live, grow, repair and prevent disease. To find out more about what you need to eating & drinking to be healthy…. Check out the following sections.

Nutrients & Minerals

There are 6 nutrients and your body needs all of them, these include;

Protein - Protein is used by your body to build muscles for you to grow, protein also helps your body repair itself and is used by your immune system to keep you fighting fit and well. You can get protein from meat, fish, nuts, dairy, legumes and lentils.

Carbohydrates - will provide your body with major source of energy. There are two types of carbs starch (bread, pasta and potatoes) and sugar (milk, fruit and sweets).

Fats - is another energy source, it is the major storage form of energy in the body. Lots and lots of foods are good sources of fat, like, olive oil, nuts, avocado and cheese.
However, remember not all fats are good for you and you should limit your intake of bad fats. Bad fats are those found in butter, chips and other fast foods.

Vitamins -are used by the body for lots of things………there are lots of different vitamins and they all have a different use’ in the body. For Example

For example:

·Vitamin A is really good for your eyes, it can help you see better in the dark and see colours better too. You will find Vitamin A in milk, carrots, eggs, spinach and sweet potatoes.

·Vitamin B is really important for energy release in your body, they also are used by red blood cells to carry oxygen! You can get vitamin B from lots of foods like, whole grains, fish, seafood, dairy, leafy greens and citrus foods.

·Vitamin C is used to look after your body tissue, like muscles and gums. It is also really good at helping your body fight infection. You can find Vitamin C in foods like citrus fruits, cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage.

·Vitamin D is really important for strong bones and teeth. It’s also used to absorb calcium which is needed to make strong teeth and bones.

·Vitamin E is important for a healthy body tissue (skin, eyes, liver, nails, hair and more).

Minerals

Minerals are substances required by the body for a variety of functions. We need some minerals in larger amounts than others. These include calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. Others minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine and fluoride are also required but only in small amounts.

Water = H2O

It is important to drink loads of water (ideally around 2 litres a day). It has been proven by keeoing properly hydrated your concentration is increased. Think about it!! Avoid fizzy drinks, which are usually high in sugar although they give you an instant sugar rush, they do not provide sustained energy, nor rehydrate you properly. Semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, diet fizzy drinks or diet/low sugar diluting juices are other slightly healthier sources of fluid.