Members Advice on Healthy Eating

You may think it weird, me, writing a review on healthy eating, after i'm known all to well for my love of all things sweet. Over the past couple of months however I have become a whole lot more aware of the products out there, their nutritional values, and the goodness and damages they do to your body. I feel really strongly about keeping everybody healthy, and as obesity and eating disorders (damn:() are becoming a whole big problem, I think its ...
.../> After posting my review on anorexia and my experience a couple of weeks back, I thought it would be good to do a little follow up review with a guide to healthy eating. Healthy eating along with plenty of regular, varied exercize results in a healthy body and slashes chances of developing health problems hugely.

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..5 A DAY..
Yes I know. You've heard it all before. Lets face it, most people much prefer a ... more

You may think it weird, me, writing a review on healthy eating, after i'm known all to well for my love of all things sweet. Over the past couple of months however I have become a whole lot more aware of the products out there, their nutritional values, and the goodness and damages they do to your body. I feel really strongly about keeping everybody healthy, and as obesity and eating disorders (damn:() are becoming a whole big problem, I think its something more people need to be aware of.

After posting my review on anorexia and my experience a couple of weeks back, I thought it would be good to do a little follow up review with a guide to healthy eating. Healthy eating along with plenty of regular, varied exercize results in a healthy body and slashes chances of developing health problems hugely.

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..5 A DAY..
Yes I know. You've heard it all before. Lets face it, most people much prefer a cream cake or a bar of chocolate to a couple of satsumas or a banana. I can certainly say I do. However, fruit and veg is extremely important in the diet- providing the body with essential vitamins etc. Although eating the recommended amount provides huge benifits including preventions to illness such as cancer, it has been proven that only 1 in 7 people consume the recommended amount.
Fitting 5 peices of fruit and veg in a day in todays society is often extremely difficult, due to varying factors. For example;

• Cost- In the recent years, supermarket prices have shot up and fruit and veg are no exception.
  However, it doesn't have to be like this. Shopping at markets is normally cheaper than supermarkets. Opting for supermarkets unbranded products also will save a hell of a lot in the long run.
• Time- What with work, kids and hobbies, there isn't much time for being too picky while doing the shopping. Lets face it who really wants to spend forever in the supermarket searching for special fruits and vegs. Buying tinned fruit and packaged frozen fruit and veg is usually much quicker, and better value for money too.
• "I don't like fruit and veg" - Often the phrase repeated by children, and some adults too. However, it is almost impossible to "hate" fruit and veg, you may hate apples or carrots, but it is very unlikely there wont be at least one or two peices you do like.

Fruit and veg doesn't have to be boring, an apple doesn't have to be consumed on its own to count as one of your five a day. There are various ways you can incorperate them into your diet, in a less boring and more fun way;

• Breakfasts- Breakfast doens't have to be a single orange and 3 pears. No way! Instead, try a smoothie, throwing in a banana plus your other favourite fruits and mixing with skimmed milk or a healthy yoghurt is a delicious way to provide you with at least 1 of your 5 a day. Another fantastic way to incorperate some fruit into your breakfast is by adding a chopped banana or your favourite fruit over your cereal. A glass of fruit juice is another easy way to fill in one of your 5 a day. Sadly though, no matter how many glasses of pure fruit juice you drink, it only counts as 1 portion of fruit.
• Snacks- Normally, when you feel peckish and need a sugar hit you will opt for the nearest vending machine or nip to the shops for a can of coke and a mars bar. However, fruit is full of healthy, natural sugars which will also give you a boost for energy. Again though, fruit doesn't have to be eaten plain. A smoothie can provide a great, healthy snack, as long as it is made with skimmed milk or low fat yoghurt, a peach smoothie or a strawberry and raspberry smoothie will provide an instant sweetness and energy levels will shoot up. Low fat yoghurt is also a fantastic snack, and scooping in a chopped banana or a handful of mixed berries will mean your snack counts toward one of your five a day. If you are out and you feel a hunger pang, opt for a bag of apples and grapes or a bag of carrot strips. Most health food shops, and shops such as boots sell small bags of such things.
• Lunch- Lunch is one of the easiest places to fit in some vegetables. A salad such as a prawn salad (in low fat mayo) or a chicken salad can often count up to 2 or 3 of your five a day, don't just stick to your normal lettuce and cucumber though, try adding in grated carrot, tomato slices, mixed peppers, and some beetroot provides a lovely flavouring. Salad is also great added into sandwiches, normally counting as 1 of your five a day. Soup is also a fabulous, and delicious way to add in your 5 a day. Homemade soup is better than tin bought however. Again, to add fruit in a delicious pudding would be fruit salad, or yoghurt with berrys or raisins. It would also be handy to have a glass of fruit juice with lunch too.
• Dinner- Dinner is much the same as lunch, in that adding vegetables is easier. Having a healthy meal such as fish, sweet potato and veg is a fantastic, healthy tea which obliviously counts toward your 5 a day. Again, pudding can be a simple fruit salad. Sadly a fruit dessert such as a fruit scone or an apple pie doens't count! (:()

What is a portion?
Many people are oblivious and completely unaware of what 1 portion of fruit and veg is. Often "a portion" counts as two, or sometimes only half a portion. Here are some examples;

• 150ml of pure fruit juice - eg pineapple/apple
• 2 peices of small "fruits" - eg satsumas, plums, kiwi etc
• 1 peice of "large" fruit- eg apple, orange etc
• 1 cupful of fruit- eg grapes
• 1/2 grapefruit
• 1 heaped tablespoon dried fruit- eg raisins.

..STARCH-Y FOODS..
Basing your meals around starchy foods, are an easy way to stay healthy and provide enough starch for the diet. Starch foods include, pasta, rice, potatoes etc, aswell as cereals and breads. A third of what we eat should be made of starch foods, often people go over this, and many people don't eat enough. Starch foods are a great source of B vitamins and fibre amongst various other health benefits.
Im sure you've all heard it before, "choose brown or wholegrain over white". This includes pastas, breads, cereals and rices.
But why?

• Fibre- wholegrain foods contain lots more fibre than white foods. So when you feel like a peice of toast, toast some brown or wholegrain bread instead of the usual white stuff. More often than not you'll enjoy the wholegrain more than the white.
• Feeling fuller for longer- wholegrain foods such as wholegrain pasta or rice, are digested slower than white, "normal" types. This means that we end up feeling fuller for longer, which prevents snacking, on somehting unhealthy like a chocolate biscuit or a packet of crisps.
• Bloating- eating white bread etc is alot more bloating than brown types. I tried a little experiment the other week, one lunch time I had a bowl of white pasta with tuna, tomato sauce and cheese and the following lunch time I had brown pasta with the same toppings. I found that my tummy didn't bloat so much and I was alot mroe comfortable after my meal.

*Breakfasts- Breakfasts are an easy way to provide some starch. Along with perhaps a peice of fruit, a cereal such as branflakes with skimmed milk or low fat yoghurt is a great way to get some "hidden" fibre into your diet. Another easy way it to have a slice or two of whole meal toast. Something like low fat marg or a scrambeled egg is a fantastic nutritious breakfast.

• Snacks- Starchy snacks, tricky one. Although crisps are an easy way to consume some "potatoes" they certainly aren't healthy and are usually loaded with saturated fat and salts. Something like a small bowl of cereal is a great way and fills you up till the next meal. Wholegrain rice cakes or oat cakes are also good, and are delicious with low fat cottage cheese or low fat marg. A slice of brown bread and low fat marg is also a decent choice, though often not the most practical.
• Lunches- A great way to include fibre into lunch time is very obvious. A sandwich. Anything on a sandwich is good, as long as its not laden with mayonnaise or lashings of butter. A great idea is a banana sandwich, or toastie, fantastically provideing a portion of starch and one of your 5 a day.
• Tea- Tea is one of the easiest ways to incorperate some starch into your diet. One of the most common ways is with pasta. A simple dish such as spaghetti bolognaise or tuna pasta made with wholemeal pasta is a nutritious and filling lunch. Potatoes are also a great way, served alongside chicken or fish, and some veg, it a great and healthy way to provide carbohydrates. As long as the mash isn't swimming in butter and mashed to a pulp with cheese, it will do no harm. Rice is also a great way, wheather its with a chicken curray, or in a risotto.

Low carb diets?
A common "diet" among woman (and men) these days are cutting out every source of carbohydrates/starchy foods. I know when I was ill ,this was one of the first things to go. However, cutting out all starch foods can do serious damage to your health. Cutting out carbs, often means the person consumes more meats, cheeses etc, which means the diet therefor becomes higher in fat than it was before. This can lead to heart problems and various other problems.
Cutting out starchy foods will help to start with, with losing weight however after a while energy levels will dip and you will actually end up feeling hungrier later on, meaning snacking on chocolates and crisps is more likely.
If you want to limit the carbs you eat, base your meals around them as this usually means you'll be adding more to your meal, meaning the carb section wont actually be so bad!

..DAIRY..
Dairy provides a brilliant source of calcium, protein and B vitamins. Dairy foods include, milk, yoghurt, and cheese.
While eating dairy though, you have to be quite aware of the nutritional factors. Often, dairy such as yoghurt and cheeses can be very high in fat and calories, aswell as sugar and salts. Consuming occasionally is not a problem and can often provide a "healthier" treat however eating on a daily basis is not the best idea. For example some cheeses are very high in fat, and some yoghurts contain the amount of fat and calories as a chocolate bar. Another common mistake is that ice cream is a brilliant soure of dairy, although it does contain milk, it is also pumped full of sugar which therefor basically, cancels out the benefits of the calcium contained.
Milk is often a great source of fat in the diet, however opting for skimmed or even semi-skimmed milk can save an amazing amount of fat and calories. (Not in the case of babies and young children though).

• Children- Children need a high amount of dairy and calcium in their diet, due to the fact they are still growing and calcium etc helps with the growth of bones, and healthiness of teeth. Up untill the age of 2, children should drink full fat milk/normal milk, and it is best to keep them on it a few years after too. This is partly to do with the fact the skimmed/semi skimmed milk doesn't provide so many calories, and children at this age shouldn't be trying to loose weight or even watch there weight.
• Adults- It is "healthier" for adults and teenagers to have semi skimmed milk, rather than skimmed or full fat. Skimmed doesn't provide many calories and the nutrients and benefits are slimmer than semi and full fat.

*Breakfasts- Breakfast is a fairly easy place to add in some dairy to your diet. Simply adding milk into your cereal counts towards your daily recomendation. A glass of milk along side a peice of toast is a great idea too. Adding yoghurt, preferably low fat to your milk and cereal also adds an extra benefit.

• Snacks- A common snack, again is a smoothie made with low fat yoghurt or semi skimmed/skimmed milk. This also provides you with some of your 5 a day. A low fat yoghurt is another great way and is even more interesting with some mixed berries or a chopped up banana.
• Lunches/Dinners- It is fairly diffiuclt to add in dairy to your main meals, however adding something like cheese to your sandwich (preferably low fat) or cottage cheese to your salad is a fairly interesting and easy way. Puddings are an easy-ish way too add in some dairy too, something like low fat yoghurt with honey, or a bowl of low fat ice cream will provide you with a fair amount of calcium and dairy.

Allergys?
Many people are allergic to dairy/milk, known as "lactose intolerant".
A lactose intolerrant is prone to diarreha and bloating, among other symptoms when they come to consume something containing milk.
More often than not, a lactose intolerant, uses soya milk or such like in place of normal work, and soya yoghurts are also a good idea.
Cheese is not usually such a big problem with lactose intolerants, containing alot less lactose than yoghurts and milk, however if you are wary its often best to try a tiny sample to begin with or stay away, altogehter.

...PROTEINS...
People often get confused about what "a protein actually is". Protein is essential in the body, for repairing cells and build up muscles.
Protein includes; chicken, fish, eggs, beans, meat, lentils, soya and beans.
It is recommended that one eats around 70g of protein per day, and although a little extra doesn't hurt, a huge amount extra can casue serious health problems.

• Breakfasts- Breakfasts are a fairly difficult place to add in protein. It seems unless you are having a proper fry up with bacon, sausage and eggs, it is impossible. WRONG! Simply having a couple of slices of (wholemeal) toast with 2 scrambeled eggs, is a great source of protein and will provide you with mounds of energy. Having some turkey ham with bread is another great way.
• Snacks- Snacks are also a difficult way to add in protein and to be honest its best to keep proteins to your main meals. However if you must, somethng like some prawns or something is a easy way to incorperate protein and are also low in fat.
• Lunches- Lunches are usually made up around protein. For example an omelette provides protein through the eggs, and served with veg provides a healthy lunch time meal. Having a chicken pasta or a chicken sandwich is also a brilliant way. Something like a lentil dahhl, or lentil soup is also a brilliant way of including protein alongside plenty of veg.
• Tea- Tea is an easy peasy way to include protein. For a lighter dinner, a chicken, or a ham salad is the perfect option or for a main meal, chicken and potatoes and veg is a great way. It is only recommended to have fish two to three times a week, and a perfect choice is something like salmon which provides essential fatty acids.

Fish?
Fish is an excellent source of vitemans and healthy fatty acids. Fish range in fat measures, fish such as haddock, skate, pollack and cod are very low in fat and although they don't provide as much omega 3 as oily fish they do contain some!
Oily fish, such as salmon, trout, tuna, kipper and anchovies are higher in fat, however not very unhealthy fats, they are healthier and essential ones needed for the body. Oily fish are brilliant sources of vitamin A and D, aswell as omega 3, preventing heart disease.
Poaching or baking fish is a better idea to frying fish, as it limits the amount of fat and the unhealthy fats you need. Fish and chips from the chip shop are ok on special occasions but once every month is enough.

Girls and woman, and pregnant/breastfeeding woman should be eating roughly 2 potions of oily fish a week, whereas men and boys are recommended to eat up to 4 portions a week.

..FAT AND TREATS..
With all this "healthy eating", we deserve a treat now and again. However instead of gorging in cream cakes and fudge doughtnuts, its best to monitor what you eat and stick to a limit. After all once you have one mars bar, you often crave another and without giving yourself a limit, you may find yourself having polished off 5 or 6 mars bars. (good luck on that one, i must say!!).
Fat in the diet is essential, but only a small amount. Fat is needed for some fatty acids the body is not automatically prodcing and also is helpful when absorbing vitamins and minerals provided by the body and other foods.

• "Hidden fats" are often ignored, such as butters, spreads and cooking oil.
• Saturated fat in high amounts in deadly for the body, ending up in obesity, heart problems, blocked arteries and high cholesterol. Foods such as, pastys, butter, lard, sausages etc, fromage frais, and cheeses are all high in s fat and should only be consumed occaisonally.
• Trains fats are also "deadly" much similar to sat fats, ending in high cholesterol and heart problems. Trans fats can be found in; fast foods, margarines, pastry and cakes aswell as various other places.
• Unsaturated fats- Unsaturated fats are perhaps the "healthiest choice". They provide us with essential fatty acids and can sometimes reduce cholesterol levels. These include; oily fish, nuts and seeds, vegetable oils, and avacados. Choosing oily fish instead of something like red meat or sausages automatically lowers the fat content, choosing seeds or nuts instead of a chocolate biscuit or a bowl of ice cream again lowers the fat and makes it a healthy choice, and choosing something such as olive oil to instead of butter also has its benifits.

Many people eat much to much fat. It seems very difficult to cut down on fats, but it doesn't have to be like that. There are simple choices and changes you can make to lower the fat in the diet.

• When making sandwiches, try not to use butter. If you must, using a low fat marg or a low fat mayo is a much healthier idea, and still tastes scrumptious.
• Choosing low fat yoghurt and skimmed milk is also a great way to limit the fat in your diets. When choosing low fat yoghurts however, make sure you check the labels as most yoghurts low in fat contain sweetners such as the dreaded Aspartame.
• If you are have a take away from the chip shop, choose a fish cake instead of a peice of fish (or 3!!) in batter. If you must have the fish in batter, removing the top layer of batter will reduce the fat content considerably.

Snacks are the best place to add in fat to your diet. However something like nuts would be a better idea. However, having the odd mars bar or packet of crisps will not do you any harm, but keeping this to around twice a week would be a good idea.

...SUGAR...
Most people now a day eat too much sugar and alot more than is actually recommended.
Sugars found in fruits etc are called natural sugars, and are the main type of sugar we should be having.
"Bad sugars" however, are found in food such as, sweets and biscuits, ice creams, cakes, puddings and in liquids such as fizzy pop and diluting juice.
Foods containing extra sugars are often high in calories too, so sugar isn't the only problem we are faced with when tucking into a packet of fruit pastilles or such like. Fruit juice also contains lots of sugar, so sticking to a minimum is probably a better idea.

Like I said, people in todays society consume way to much sugar, and cutting down is often difficult due to the cravings and withdrawel symptoms however it is not impossible.

• Choosing a cereal such as branflakes or weetabix instead of the usual frosties lowers the sugar content considerably.
• Instead of jam or honey or golden syrup, a mashed banana is a better idea on toast or a peice of brad.
• Instead of a cream cake or a chocolate eclair, try having a wholemeal scone with some low fat marg.
• Try to stop sprinkling sugar ontop of your cereal, adding half a banana or some raisins will be the equivalent sweetness and healthier too.
• Instead of choosing tinned fruit in syrup, try buying it in its natural juice, or much better try a peice of fresh fruit!

...SALT...
An average adult, should consume around 6g of salt per day. Eating over 6g over a long period of time can result in high blood pressure, heart disease among other problems.
3 quarters of the salt we consume is already in the food, and the last quarter is the salt we add ontop of our meals. Many people do not realise how much salt is in their diet, completely oblivious to the large amount included in foods already.
Ready meals are often high in salts, and particulary those stated to be "healthy". Often when the calorie and fat content is low, the sugar and salt contents are sky high. Some ready meals actually contain more salt than you are recommended to have, and once cooked (or heated up) most people will add a sprinkling (or blanket?!) of salt ontop of their meal. This could result in have up to 8g of fat in one single meal. How to cut out salt?

• Do not have salt pots on the table. If the salt container is on the table it is more than likely to add salt ontop of your meal. If the temptation isn't there...
• Cook from starters- cooking from scratch means you know exactly what is in your food. For example instead of buying a pizza, make your own. Make your own dough, make a tomato sauce from fresh tomatos and use a cheese you know well. By doing this you know exactly what is in your food and it wont be pumped full of salts.
• Check the labels- all foods (most) provide all the nutritional information on a visible and normally eye catching label. Some foods labels are traffic lighted, or coloured coded. Green being healthy, amber being to eat in moderation and red to be eaten on the occasion only. Opt for meals and foods which the sodium/salt level is green.
• When preparing foods, instead of adding in salt, add in spices and herbs instead.

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..TYPICAL HEALTHY DIETS...
(seek medical advice from your GP before trying any of these diets)

LOW CALORIE
Breakfast: Bowl of wholegrain cereal, cup of tea, fruit squash
Snack- 2 satsumas
Lunch- Banana sandwich on wholegrain bread, pot of low fat yoghurt, water
Snack- 2 finger kit kat or banana or 2 kiwi
Tea- vegetable stir fry and fruit salad with small pot low fat yoghurt
Snack- Options hot chocolate 40 calorie sachets, and yoghurt/fruit

LOW FAT
Breakfast: Bowl of wholegrain cereal, skimmed milk, 150ml fruit juice
Snack: Apple and water
Lunch: Bowl of vegetable soup, 1 slice wholegrain toast, pot low fat yoghurt, water/diluting juice
Snack: Low fat yoghurt with fruit salad
Tea: Baked fish, boiled potatoes, steamed vegetables, peice of fruit, diluting juice/water
Snack: fruit or toast with low fat spread and jam, more water

LOW SALT
Breakfast: Bowl of cereal with semi skimmed milk and 150ml fruit juice
Snack: peice of fruit eg banana or 2 peices of fruit eg plum/satsuma
Lunch: Chicken, potato and vegetables, 1 peice of fruit eg banana and diluting/fruit juice
Snack: Crumpet with low fat butter
Tea: Rissotto, 1 pot low fat yoghurt and diluting juice/water
Snack: 2 biscuits (eg hobnobs, digestives), water

LOW SUGAR
Breakfast: Wholemeal toast with banana, cup of tea, water
Snack: 2 kiwi's
Lunch: Ham toastie, fruit salad, water
Snack: 1 apple, 1 pear
Tea: Lentil shepards pie, 1 pot low fat yoghurt
Supper- 1 slice wholemeal toast with low fat spread

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...LACK OF NUTRITION...

As eating disorders are becoming more and more fruquent these days, it is about time somebody did something about it. Although this is technically impossible as I know all too well that anorexia and other eating disorders are purely a mental illness and not choosen through choice, I think making people a little more aware of the dangers of not eating a balanced and varied diet may make people think twice. Lacking in certain areas of nutrition can lead to problems such as fatigue and even resulting in blindness.

Missing out vital parts of the diet is obviously going to have consequences. For example, removing all dairy products from the diet results in your body being low in calcium. This leads to brittle bones, and can in the end lead to Osteo perosis and such like.
Lack of food such as protein can result in tiredness and exhaustion. This is why its so important for vegetarians to get a source of protein from somewhere else.

Vegetarian?
Vegetarians, vegans and such like sometimes struggle to find something substancial to eat, espescially when dining out. This means some vegetarians are lacking in essential vitimans. This means vege's have to get their source of protein from somewhere else- this could be eggs, beans, cheese and other pulses. Something such as a lentil shephards pie is a great, filling meal, and is great if you have vegetarian visitors. Now-a-days vegetarians dont have so much of a problem, due to the fact products such as soya products and quorn products such as burgers and sausages are readily available.

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...BENEFITS TO HEALTHY EATING...Changing your diet and eating more healthy definitly has its benefits.

• Energy- eating a healthy balanced diet will mean your energy levels will soar.
• Confidence boast- knowing you are eating healthily gives yourself a confidence boast knowing your doing something right for your body
• Chance to sample some of the finest foods- healthy eating doesn't have to be boring, in fact its a great chance to sample many different types of foods from all over the world
• New wardrobe- perhaps beginning to eat healthily will mean you'll drop a dress size (or 3!), this can only mean one thing! A new wardrobe - not literally a new wardrobe, more new clothes to put IN the wardrobe.
• Weight loss- if you are on a fatty, calorific diet, starting to eat healthily may result in weight loss.
• Easy bowl movements- more than likely if your diet was fat and sugar laden, you may not have found it easiest to move your bowels (go to the toilet). However eating a diet high in fibre means you will pass stools alot more easier resulting in less bloating and more confidence.
• Prevention to diseases and health problems.

Obviously, before taking my advice into action, it would be best and almost compulsary for you to consult your doctor of GP reguarding any changes you will be making in your diet.
Healthy eating goes hand in hand with exercize and regular activity, however as this review is in the catogry of healthy eating, I will not bore you to death and I will post an exercize review at a later date!

SweetTooth 93 

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