Consuming Healthy Food is fundamental to maintaining overall well-being and ensuring your body functions optimally. A balanced dietary approach provides the necessary energy and nutrients to support daily activities and long-term health. The essence of a healthy diet lies in consuming the appropriate amount of calories based on your activity level, thereby harmonizing energy intake with expenditure.
When your calorie consumption exceeds your body’s requirements, the surplus energy is stored as fat, leading to weight gain. Conversely, insufficient calorie intake results in weight loss. Therefore, understanding your body’s energy needs is the first step towards consuming healthy food effectively. Furthermore, dietary variety is crucial. Incorporating a wide spectrum of foods ensures that your body receives a comprehensive range of nutrients essential for various bodily functions.
It is generally advised that men consume approximately 2,500 calories daily (10,500 kilojoules), while women should aim for around 2,000 calories (8,400 kilojoules). However, it’s important to note that many adults in English-speaking countries currently exceed their necessary calorie intake and would benefit from reducing their consumption. To guide you towards healthier eating habits, here are eight practical tips for consuming healthy food effectively.
1. Prioritize Meals Based on High-Fiber Starchy Carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates are a vital component of a healthy diet and should constitute just over a third of your food intake. This category includes staples like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and breakfast cereals. When selecting starchy carbohydrates, opt for higher fiber or wholegrain varieties such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or potatoes with their skins. These options are richer in fiber compared to their white or refined counterparts, contributing to prolonged satiety and improved digestive health.
Aim to incorporate at least one starchy food source into each main meal. Contrary to some misconceptions, starchy foods themselves are not inherently fattening. In fact, gram for gram, the carbohydrates they contain provide less than half the calories of fat. The issue often arises from added fats during cooking or serving. For instance, the calorie content of chips increases significantly with oil, bread with butter, and pasta with creamy sauces. Being mindful of these additions is key to consuming healthy food without unnecessary calorie surplus.
2. Maximize Your Intake of Fruits and Vegetables
A cornerstone of consuming healthy food is the abundant consumption of fruits and vegetables. Health guidelines recommend aiming for at least 5 portions of a diverse range of fruits and vegetables daily. These can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or juiced, offering flexibility in how you meet this target. Integrating 5 A Day into your diet is more achievable than it might seem. Simple adjustments like adding sliced banana to your breakfast cereal or choosing a piece of fresh fruit instead of a processed snack can make a significant difference.
A standard portion of fresh, canned, or frozen fruit and vegetables is 80g. For dried fruit, which is more calorie-dense, a portion is 30g and should ideally be consumed during mealtimes. While a 150ml glass of fruit juice, vegetable juice, or smoothie also counts as one portion, it’s advisable to limit intake to no more than one glass per day due to their sugar content, which can be detrimental to dental health. Prioritizing whole fruits and vegetables over juices is generally a healthier approach to consuming healthy food and maximizing nutritional benefits.
3. Increase Fish Consumption, Including Oily Fish
Fish is an excellent source of protein and a wealth of essential vitamins and minerals, making it a crucial component of consuming healthy food. It is recommended to eat at least two portions of fish weekly, with one portion being oily fish. Oily fish are particularly beneficial due to their high content of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to contribute to heart health by potentially preventing heart disease.
Examples of oily fish include salmon, trout, herring, sardines, pilchards, and mackerel. Non-oily fish options, while still nutritious, include haddock, plaice, coley, cod, tuna, skate, and hake. You can choose from fresh, frozen, or canned fish. However, be mindful that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt content. While most individuals should aim to increase their fish intake, it’s worth noting that there are recommended consumption limits for certain types of fish, particularly for specific populations. For those looking to optimize their diet by consuming healthy food, incorporating fish regularly is a highly beneficial practice.
4. Reduce Intake of Saturated Fat and Sugar
Saturated Fat
While some fat is necessary in your diet, paying close attention to both the amount and type of fat you consume is crucial for consuming healthy food. Fats are broadly classified into saturated and unsaturated. Excessive saturated fat intake can elevate blood cholesterol levels, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease. Health guidelines recommend that men should consume no more than 30g of saturated fat daily, and women should aim for no more than 20g. Children under 11 years old should have even less saturated fat than adults, although a very low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5. Interestingly, full-fat dairy products are recommended for children up to 2 years old.
Saturated fat is prevalent in foods like fatty cuts of meat, sausages, butter, hard cheese, cream, cakes, biscuits, lard, and pies. To consume healthier food, try to minimize saturated fat intake and opt for foods rich in unsaturated fats instead. These include vegetable oils and spreads, oily fish, and avocados. When cooking, consider using small amounts of vegetable or olive oil, or reduced-fat spreads instead of butter, lard, or ghee. For meat dishes, choose lean cuts and trim off any visible fat. Remember that all types of fat are energy-dense, so moderation is key, even with unsaturated fats, when consuming healthy food.
Sugar
Regular consumption of foods and drinks high in sugar significantly increases the risk of obesity and tooth decay. Sugary items are often high in calories, and overconsumption can lead to weight gain. They also contribute to tooth decay, especially when consumed between meals. Free sugars, which include sugars added to foods or drinks and those naturally found in honey, syrups, and unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies, are the primary concern. It’s these free sugars that should be limited, rather than the sugars naturally present in whole fruits and milk.
Many packaged foods and drinks contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars. These are found in sugary fizzy drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, cakes, biscuits, pastries and puddings, sweets and chocolate, and alcoholic beverages. Food labels are invaluable tools for monitoring sugar intake. When reading labels, more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g indicates a high sugar content, while 5g of total sugars or less per 100g is considered low. Making informed choices based on these labels is essential for consuming healthy food and managing sugar intake effectively.
5. Limit Salt Intake: No More Than 6g Daily for Adults
Excessive salt consumption can elevate blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Alarmingly, about three-quarters of the salt we consume is already present in processed foods such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads, and sauces, even before we add any extra salt. Therefore, even if you avoid adding salt to your meals, you might still be consuming too much. Food labels are crucial for managing salt intake. A product containing more than 1.5g of salt per 100g is considered high in salt.
Adults and children aged 11 and over should limit their salt intake to no more than 6g (approximately one teaspoonful) daily. Younger children require even less. To consume healthier food, it’s essential to be vigilant about hidden salt in processed foods and to consciously reduce added salt in home cooking and at the table. Choosing lower-salt alternatives and increasing the use of herbs and spices for flavoring can significantly reduce your overall salt consumption while still enjoying flavorful meals.
6. Engage in Physical Activity and Maintain a Healthy Weight
Alongside consuming healthy food, regular physical exercise is vital for reducing the risk of serious health conditions and for overall well-being. Being overweight or obese can lead to conditions such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease, and stroke. Conversely, being underweight can also negatively impact health. For most adults, losing weight involves consuming fewer calories and increasing physical activity. A healthy, balanced diet is instrumental in maintaining a healthy weight.
To assess whether you are at a healthy weight, you can use a BMI healthy weight calculator. If weight loss is your goal, resources like the NHS weight loss plan, a 12-week guide combining healthier eating advice and physical activity recommendations, can be invaluable. If you are underweight or concerned about your weight, seeking advice from a GP or a dietitian is recommended. Integrating both healthy eating and regular exercise is the most effective approach to consuming healthy food and achieving a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
7. Stay Hydrated by Drinking Enough Fluids
Maintaining adequate hydration is crucial for preventing dehydration. Health authorities recommend drinking 6 to 8 glasses of fluids daily, in addition to the fluid intake from food. All non-alcoholic beverages count towards this goal, but water, lower-fat milk, and lower-sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are healthier choices. It’s advisable to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks due to their high calorie content and negative impact on dental health. Even unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies are high in free sugars, so their combined daily intake should not exceed 150ml, equivalent to a small glass.
Remember to increase fluid intake during hot weather or when engaging in physical exercise. Prioritizing water and lower-sugar options is a key aspect of consuming healthy food and maintaining overall health. Proper hydration supports various bodily functions, from temperature regulation to nutrient transport, making it an indispensable part of a healthy lifestyle.
8. Never Skip Breakfast
Skipping breakfast is a common misconception for weight loss. However, a healthy breakfast that is high in fiber and low in fat, sugar, and salt is an integral part of a balanced diet. It provides essential nutrients needed for good health and kick-starts your metabolism for the day. A wholegrain, lower-sugar cereal with semi-skimmed milk and topped with sliced fruit is a delicious and healthier breakfast option. Consuming healthy food starts with making informed choices right from the first meal of the day. Breakfast not only provides immediate energy but also helps in better nutrient management throughout the day, reducing the likelihood of unhealthy snacking later on.
