The right balance of food and activities will help you feel great and keep healthy. Remember to:
• Make sure that you eat a variety of foods. It is important to eat from all five food groups
• Emphasize cereals, breads and other grain products. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. These contain vital nutrients and leading dietitians recommend eating at least two servings of fruit and three of vegetables every day.
• Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activities and healthy eating. Being too thin can cause as many health problems as being overweight. Remember, the correct weight for you depends on many different factors including your age, height and sex.
• Eat moderate portions and don’t be tempted to order a larger size when eating out. Skipping meals can lead to overeating as you will be much hungrier later, so be sure to eat regularly if you want to curb your appetite
• You don’t need to eliminate all of your favourite foods but do check the ingredients on food labels and make sure that you reduce your intake of foods that are high in fats, sugar and salt. Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats and food prepared with little or no fat. Take limited salt, alcohol and caffeine.
• If you have a food allergy, make sure you avoid any of the ingredients that can trigger an attack.
Having a healthy diet is sometimes easier said than done. It is tempting to eat less healthy food because they might be easier to get or prepare or they satisfy a craving. Between family and work or school, you are probably balancing a hundred things at once.
