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Title: Healthy Eating Food Essentials
Introduction:

The amount and types of foods you eat have a huge influence on your health, your body needs a huge variety of nutrients to work correctly and keep healthy. Its therefore important that you maintain a healthy diet. No single type of food contains all the nutrients and fibre you need, so it is important to always eat a large range of foods, eating the right balance from the five main food groups will ensure that your body gets all it requires to stay fit and healthy, the five main food groups are:

• Starchy foods
• Fruit and vegetables
• Dairy foods
• Meat, fish and other non – dairy sources of protein (such as beans)
• Fats and sugar

Body:

Most of the carbohydrate in your diet should come from starchy foods also known as complex carbohydrates. These include bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta or rice.

Starchy foods are usually bulky, so they fill you up quicker than other food groups. Wholegrain varieties can be particularly rich in nutrients and fibre, and therefore they should be preferred to white choices.

Fruit and vegetables are good sources of nutrients, in particular vitamins, minerals and fibre. You should aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Doing this could cut your risk of disease, including some cancers and heart disease.

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

Choose lower-fat options such as semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, low-fat yogurts and cheeses. Some dairy foods, such as butter and cream, should be eaten in much smaller doses because of their high fat content, especially saturated fats which have been linked to a higher risk of certain diseases. These food items should be regard the as members of the 'fats and sugar' food group rather than the 'dairy foods' group.

Red meat, poultry, fish (fresh, frozen or tinned), beans and pulses, eggs and nuts are all important non-dairy sources of protein. When preparing meat and poultry, you should always remember to cut off any extra fat and skin and don't add butter or oil when cooking it, if you feel it is necessary only use small amounts, consider grilling, baking or poaching meat, fish and poultry rather than frying it. Also try to limit amounts of processed meat (such as sausages) as they often contain a lot of fat and salt.

It's recommended that you should eat at least two portions of fish per week (one portion is about 140g), of which one should be oily. This is because of its high content of long chain omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids have a protective effect on your heart.

Butter, mayonnaise, crisps, cakes and puddings are examples of foods which are high in saturated fats and should only be eaten in small doses. Look out for low-fat options of these food types, which may be slightly healthier but should still be eaten in small amounts.

A certain amount of fat is essential for good health but if you eat too much of it, you're more likely to become overweight and may be at an increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

It's not only the total amount of fat in your diet that influences your health but also the quality of fat. Some types of fat have been shown to be very good for you, for example the long chain omega 3 fatty acids in oily fish, which help to protect against heart disease.

Foods high in refined sugar such as table sugar, sugary drinks and snacks provide "empty calories". This means that these foods give you energy but have very low nutritional values. Frequently eating sugary foods such as sweets and chocolate also contributes to tooth decay and gum disease, so its always best to try and limit your refined sugar intake.

Alcohol just like sugar provides empty calories and this is one of the many reasons why you should limit your alcohol intake, those who control there alcohol intake, tend to be a lot healthier than those who binge drink.

Word count: Body (564 ), Introduction (120 )

healthy eating, food essentials, carbohydrates, starchy foods, fruit and vegetables, fats and sugar, alcohol, dairy, non-dairy, protein