Top Tips For Healthy Eating
Crawley wellbeing offers a free, confidential service which can support you with your healthy eating. Here are their top tips for healthy eating.
- Aim to have at least five portions of fruit and
vegetables in a day. These provide vital vitamins,
minerals and fibre that our body needs.
- Base meals around starchy carbohydrates.
Wholegrain and high fibre are better as they give us
energy, fibre to help digestion, contain vitamins
and keep us full. They include oats, pasta, bread and
potatoes.
- Include protein in most meals. Protein helps growth
and repair of body cells. Aim for oily fish twice a week.
Limit red meat to twice a week. Alternative proteins
are quorn, lentils, pulses, beans, nuts
- Dairy products are important. They are a good
source of calcium and contain other vital vitamins.
Aim for two to three portions a day e.g. milk on
cereal, plain yoghurt and/or a small slice of cheese.
- Unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and
monounsaturated). These are found in nuts,
avocado, oils and oily fish. These help maintain your
‘good’ cholesterol. Have these in small quantities,
instead of saturated fats.
- Aim to keep salt to a minimum. It is contained
in many bought sauces, bread and processed meats.
Aim for less than one teaspoon a day. This can help
maintain good blood pressure.
- Aim to keep saturated fats to a minimum. These
can increase our ‘bad’ cholesterol. These include
red meats, cheese, butter, cakes, pastries and pies.
- Aim to limit refined carbohydrates and sugary
foods. Too much sugar can increase our risk of
diabetes and low mood. Sugar naturally occurs in
fruit and milk. Aim for less than 30g (seven sugar
cubes) a day.
Exercise is important for our bone density, muscle tone, metabolism and a healthy mind. In order to have a healthy lifestyle, exercise should be included in some form, most days.
