Published on Dec 17 2011 

 

Healthy Eating

It's important to understand the effect that food has on your body and to learn how to eat the right balance of healthy and not-so-healthy foods. It's also important that you're able to enjoy what you're eating, knowing that you're giving your body everything it needs.

Why healthy eating is important?

Your food choices can have a long-term impact on your health. There is good evidence that eating a healthy diet can reduce your risk of illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke and cancer. The food you eat contains many types of nutrients and fiber. These are all required for many vital processes in your body. For example:

  Carbohydrates - your body needs a source of energy. All your organs (including your heart, lungs, brain and digestive system) need a constant supply of energy to work properly. You also need energy to grow and repair your body's tissues, keep you warm and to power your muscles for movement.

Protein - another source of energy and essential for the growth and repair of all tissues in your body.

Fats - are a highly concentrated source of energy that also help transport essential vitamins around your body.

Vitamins and minerals - there are many different vitamins and minerals which all have different and important functions in your body. For example, iron is needed to transport oxygen in your blood, calcium and vitamin D are essential for healthy bones, vitamin C is important for wound healing, and vitamin A helps to keep your eyes healthy

Fibre - helps keep your digestive system healthy and controls your cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

A balanced diet:

No single kind of food contains all the nutrients and fibre you need, so it's important to eat a range of foods. Eating the right balance from the main food groups will ensure that your body gets all it needs to stay healthy.

There are five main food groups:

Starchy foods - Most of the carbohydrates in your diet should come from starchy foods. These include bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta or rice.

Fruit and vegetables - are good sources of many nutrients.

Dairy foods - Milk and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt are important sources of calcium, protein and vitamins.

Fats and sugar - Butter, mayonnaise, crisps, cakes and puddings are examples of foods which are high in fat and should only be eaten in small amounts.

What we should eat:

Fruit and vegetables - Five portions per day - Steam rather than boil vegetables - Eat when fresh and soon after preparation

High-fibre foods - Wholegrain (or brown) bread or rice, beans

Low-fat dairy products - skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, low-fat cheese, spreads and yogurts

Starchy foods - Potatoes, rice, pasta, bread etc

What we shouldn’t eat (or eat less):

Fatty meat products such as - Halal Salami, meat pies

Salty foods - Salted peanuts, crisps - Processed foods such as ready meals and sauces, burgers and sausages

Sugary foods - Sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits

High-fat dairy products - Full-cream milk, full-fat cheese and yogurt, cream and butter.

Jazakallah

Kamal Abro

Additional Nazim Seht-e-Jismani, MKA Cheam