What do you think about healthy food?
The Food Pyramid
The food pyramid is designed to make healthy eating easier. Healthy eating is about getting the correct amount of nutrients – protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals you need to maintain good health.
Foods that contain the same type of nutrients are grouped together on each of the shelves of the Food Pyramid. This gives you a choice of different foods from which to choose a healthy diet. Following the Food Pyramid as a guide will help you get the right balance of nutritious foods within your calorie range. Studies show that we take in too many calories from foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt, on the top shelf of the Food Pyramid. They provide very little of the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs. Limiting these is essential for healthy eating.
So in a nutshell, healthy eating involves:
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Plenty of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and cereals – going for the wholegrain varieties whenever you can
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Plenty of fruit and vegetables
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Some milk, cheese and yoghurt
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Some meat, poultry, eggs, beans and nuts
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A very small amount of fats and oils
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And a very small amount or no food and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt
Supplements
If you eat a varied and balanced diet, then there is normally no need to take any food supplements – you’ll get everything you need from your food. The one exception to this is folic acid. All women of child-bearing age who could become pregnant should take a supplement of 400µg (micrograms) folic acid each day. If a woman does become pregnant, she should continue to take the supplement during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.
Fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables provide fibre. They also provide many important vitamins and minerals and are low in calories.
How many servings should I have every day?
Choose any 5 or more servings each day - more is better
What types of foods should I eat?
Fresh, local fruit and vegetables in season are best and can be very good value. Eat a variety of coloured fruit and vegetables – green, yellow, orange, red and purple in order to benefit from the variety of vitamins and minerals provided by each colour group. Include a vitamin C rich fruit each day such as an orange or orange juice, strawberries or blackberries. Count fruit juice and smoothies as only one serving each day as they may be low in fibre.
What is a serving?
The actual portion that you eat may be bigger or smaller than the servings listed in the Food Pyramid. For example, one plum would count as ½ a serving.
One serving of fruit is:
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1 medium apple, orange, banana, pear or similar size fruit
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2 small fruits - plums, kiwis or similar size fruit
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10-12 berries, grapes or cherries
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½ a grapefruit
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1 heaped dessertspoon of raisins or sultanas
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4 dessertspoons of cooked fresh fruit, fruit tinned in own juice orfrozen fruit
One serving of vegetable is:
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4 dessertspoons of cooked vegetables – fresh or frozen
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a bowl of salad – lettuce, tomato, cucumber
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a bowl of homemade vegetable soup
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1 small corn on the cob or 4 heaped dessertspoons of sweetcorn
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a small glass (100ml) of unsweetened fruit juice or a smoothie made only from fruit or vegetables.
My comment...
Should take a balanced diet as it helps us to improve our quality of life. In my case, in the morning at work, I eat whole-grain toast with a glass of milk or yogurt, and cereal. During lunch, all my dishes always carry lettuce salad with boiled vegetables, along with stews. Then in the afternoon, I perform physical exercises for 1 hour; for two or three days a week. when I finish school, I'm walking five blocks to take the bus and always ingest water throughout the day. I avoid eating at night because it is not good to do because our digestive system can not digest foods, so only if I have hungry, I drink a glass of milk before bedtime.
