Healthy eating diet

Its an indisputable fact that a healthy eating diet is essential as the food we consume has a major impact on the way we look and feel.

The problem is that we live in a society where bad food choices are presented to us at every turn, making it all to easy to end up with too much of the wrong foods, such as sweets, snacks or junk food, high in fat and sugar.

A healthy eating diet takes a balanced approach, teaching you which foods will make you feel and look better, while still allowing you to fit them into an enjoyable daily routine. A healthy eating diet is based on the following major food groups: carbohydrates, fat and protein.

• Carbohydrates are the bodys number one source of energy, and should make up about 50% of your daily energy intake.

Carbohydrate can be further divided into two types, complex and simple. Complex carbohydrates include bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice. These are bulky foods, so eating them satisfies us.

Simple carbohydrates are found in fruit and vegetables, milk, confectionery, sugar and soft drinks. Eating more complex carbohydrates will result in a diet lower in fat, and higher in dietary fibre, especially if wholegrain varieties are chosen.

Fruit and vegetables are excellent choices they are filling, low in calories and high in fibre, and can cut the risk of disease, including some cancers and heart disease. You should aim for a minimum of five portions each day.

• Fat is essential for many vital functions in the body, but should be eaten in small quantities.

The best choices are unsaturated fats, which come mainly from vegetable and fish sources. Omega 3 fatty acids can protect us against heart disease and are found in oily fish (sardines, mackerel or salmon).

• Protein is used to build and repair body tissues. Best choices are those low in fat such as lean chicken, fish or pulses such as beans or chickpeas.