What Is Healthy Eating?What is Healthy Eating?.. It is simply getting the right balance between different foods by consuming a variety of them from different nutrient groups in the right proportions: low fat, low glycemic index- GI, high fiber, low in salt and sugar, enough protein and a variety of minerals and vitamins. • Eat a wide variety of healthy foods. No single kind of food contains all the nutrients and fibre you need, so it's important to eat a range of foods. • Keep portion sizes reasonable, this will make it easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. • Both feeling hungry and bloated are not good for you: you may forget about good nutrition when you are hungry and being bloated is usually the starting point for unwanted weight gain. • Eat at least five portions of vegetables and fruits daily- baked beans and fruit juices count towards your 5 a day. 
• Try substituting red meat with fish to help with your omega 3 intake, as well as lean and skinless poultry. • Keep an eye on your daily consumption of high sugar and high (saturated) fat snacks and cut down as much as you can. • Don't add salt to your cooking as you will already find it in many (processed) foods you eat daily. Check the label for salt content, snacks that contain more than 1.25% salt are not healthy. • Try not to miss breakfast. If you do, you are a lot more likely to reach for a chocolate bar or a bag of crisps by mid-morning. • Always choose low or no fat milk, cheese and yogurt. • Drink more water as it helps flush your body of toxins and waste products. • Don't be hard on yourself and take one step at a time and make changes gradually, healthy eating will be a great new habit by time. 
How will you know if a food is high in fat? Most food labels will tell you the total fat and saturated fat contents, it is more sensible to look at the percentage section not fat per serving size. Total fat content: High is more than 20g fat per 100g Medium is between 3g and 20g per 100g Low is 3g fat or less per 100g Saturated fat content: High is more than 5g saturates per 100g Medium is between 1.5g and 5g per 100g Low is 1.5g saturates or less per 100g Starchy foods as good source of energy- breads, pasta, potatoes, rice and cereals should make up about a third of the food you eat daily and they are not as fattening as people think. Try and choose whole grain varieties whenever you can, as they contain more fiber and other nutrients than refined or white foods. Whole grain foods also make you feel full for longer as you will digest them slowly. Three regular healthy meals a day is fine, but you will probably need something in between. It is in your hands to make snacking a habit that helps energy boost rather than a diet downfall. Ditch the fatty crisps, chocolate or biscuits - they are very high in fat and calories. Try low fat yogurt with fresh fruit, a home made smoothie, fruit on its own, tinned fruit in natural juice, dried fruit, raw vegetables like carrots, peppers and cucumber, 1 or 2 table spoons of peanut butter on high fibre toast, nuts like almonds, peanuts and cashews, even small amounts of dark chocolate. References: MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) 1990: Eight Guidelines for a healthy diet London: Food Sense. National Health Service (2005) Five a day - a guide to healthy eating NHS Press (http://www.5aday.nhs.uk/). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Healthy_diet. http://www.britishlivertrust.org.uk/home/the-liver/ diet--liver-disease/ what is healthy eating .aspx. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/ HealthAndWellBeing/ HealthyLiving/index.htm. Wood, Rebecca. The Whole Foods Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Prentice-Hall Press; 1988. PMID:15220. What Is Healthy Eating? Johnson, R. K. (2000). The 2000 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: foundation of US nutrition policy. - British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin 25. p241-248.
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