Healthy eating
food; diet; recipes; eat; junk; money; choice; vegetables; veg; fruit; BMI;
hunger; shop; supermarket; buy; mental; health; healthy; eating;
Contents
It seems like everyone is always talking about diets: what you should eat and what you shouldn't eat, about 'junk' food and 'healthy' food. What does it all mean? Is it really important?
It sure is! Eating healthily can make you look better and feel better. This topic will tell you about the various food groups, why they are important, and how to put all the information together so your eating can be healthy. And don't worry, even small changes in the way you eat can make a difference. Cut back on junk food and soft drink, then eat lots of fruit and veggies, it can be that simple.
Benefits of healthy eating
Healthy eating can cause some effects that you will notice pretty quickly. For example, a healthy diet can help you:
- Control your body weight. To get an idea of this you can use the Kidshealth Body Mass Index Calculator.
- Have more energy to enjoy all kinds of exciting physical activity, like running, surfing, football, netball or dancing. Check out the topic Exercise for more ways to get active.
- Support your body while you are growing and developing so that you reach your full physical potential.
- Some studies suggest that what you eat affects your mood. A good balanced diet will make sure you have all the essential nutrients needed for your brain to function well.
There are also some benefits that you may not notice straight away, but are worth thinking about. Scientific evidence and research show that a healthy diet can help you avoid diet-related diseases, like heart disease and some cancers.
These are diseases that usually develop when people are over the age of 40. By healthy eating now you can reduce the risks of developing these diseases later on. The risk of developing some cancers can also be reduced by eating fruits, vegetables and cereals, because they contain anti-oxidants and fibre.
Choosing to change & making healthy choices
The best way to do this is to make gradual changes and give yourself time to develop new habits.
For example:
- Make one small change each week.
- Add one piece of fruit a day to your eating.
- Start to drink two more glasses of water a day.
- Cut down or stop drinking soft drink.
- Try a new low fat recipe or snack food each week.
- Eat something healthy for breakfast. Research shows that breakfast helps young people maintain a healthy weight and to be active.
- Choose wholemeal or whole grain bread instead of white.
- Trim the visible fat from raw meat, and grill meat rather than frying it.
- Try spreading less butter on your bread, only buttering one piece of bread in a sandwich, or leaving off butter altogether if you are having mayonnaise.
- If you like hot chips, did you know that the thicker the chip, the less fat it absorbs? So, if you can't resist chips, choose thick chips rather than thin french fries or 'shoe-string' chips.
- You could choose to eat a smaller portion than you used to, or eat more slowly and give your body a chance to tell you when you are full.
- Many energy drinks and bars contain lots of sugar and caffeine/guarana. These ingredients can give you a short brief feeling of energy, but they are not very good for you. You can end up feeling anxious, finding it hard to sleep, and maybe getting addicted. Try dried or fresh fruit and water as an alternative.
- Try and cut down on 'junk food', maybe just for one treat a week.
- If you decide to make a huge change overnight – eg. "No more chocolate! I swear I'm never going to eat pizza again"- you're being way too hard on yourself and what's worse, you're setting yourself up for likely failure.
- Also remember that starving yourself will make you more likely to binge eat.
It is not a good idea to choose to starve yourself for any reason.
Healthy eating guidelines for Australian adults
- Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods.
- Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits.
- Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain.
- Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives.
- Include milks, yoghurts, cheeses and/or alternatives. Reduced fat varieties should be chosen, where possible.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Take care to:
- limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake
- choose foods low in salt
- limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink
- consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars.
- prevent weight gain: be physically active and eat according to your energy needs.
- care for your food: prepare and store it safely. (See the topic Food safety.)
- encourage and support breastfeeding.
Recipes
If trying to remember all of this seems too hard, a good thing to do is learn two or three healthy recipes. Once you have cooked them a few times you won't forget them. Simply find a recipe, print the ingredients (write them down or put them in your mobile) and go shopping. Here are some sites to check out:
Why is it called 'junk food'?
Eating patterns are linked to the development of health problems. The foods that are more likely to lead to health problems are often called 'junk foods'. Foods that contain lots of fat, salt and sugar are the villains! Also, foods that do not have enough fibre are also a problem.
Here's why:
- Diets high in fat (especially saturated fat) have been linked to increased risk of heart disease - like heart attacks. Part of the reason is because fatty plaques can develop in blood vessels so not enough blood can get to your heart, or brain, or other important organs. These changes to blood vessels have been found in young people (although usually heart attacks don't happen until people get older.)
- Salt plays a very important and complicated role in the body. But diets that are high in salt can put you at risk of high blood pressure, which in turn can affect your brain… your eyes… your heart…
- Foods that contain a lot of fat and sugar are high in kilojoules. That is, they provide the body with lots of energy. If you are not using much energy - ie. not exercising much - then you are likely to put on weight.
- Too much sugar (especially when you don't brush!) contributes to tooth decay.
- Not having enough fibre makes you more likely to suffer from constipation, and you may be more likely to develop cancer of the colon or bowel.
Modern life is fast! There is a lot to do and not much time. So many people rely on ready-to-eat foods and 'fast foods'.
Because fat and salt and sugar make foods taste good, 'fast food' tends to have a high level of all these ingredients, to make people buy more. That is OK for once in a while, but not for every day.
If you can buy your own ingredients and make meals yourself, you will be able to eat healthily. You can make your own healthy fast food.
Healthy food - what to buy
We have talked about junk food. So what's left? You may have heard about the basic food groups. If you go shopping and make sure you have a few food items from each group in your basket, you are likely to be eating healthily.
- Cereals - bread, pasta and rice all provide carbohydrates which are important sources of energy
- Meat and fish - chicken, red meat, fish and seafood all provide protein, and other nutrients such as iron (especially red meat) and omega-3 fatty acids (fish) which are very necessary. Be sure that fat and skin is trimmed off, and that the food is cooked by a low-fat method. If you are a vegetarian, there are non-meat sources of protein available. See the topic Vegetarian eating.
- Fruit and vegetables - contain LOTS of different important nutrients. 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables every day is recommended.
- Dairy - milk, cheese, yoghurt and ice cream all contain calcium, which is important for the development and maintenance of bones and teeth and nerves. There are varying levels of fat in these products, but almost everything can now be bought in a low-fat version. Some, such as ice cream also usually have a lot of sugar, so be careful and only have small amounts of them.
- Avoid sweets - with lots of fats and sugars - see the 'junk food' section above.
- Water - everyone forgets about water, but it is important and the best drink for you. Try to drink several glasses a day. (One or two glasses of cordial or fruit juice are fine too, but try not to drink too much soft drink – or chose ‘diet' drinks.)
The food plate: a simple guide to healthy eating
Commonwealth of Australia, copyright reproduced with permission.
The food plate has been designed to provide simple and easy to understand guidelines to good nutrition. It explains which foods you should eat more often, which ones you need in smaller amounts and which foods you need to limit.
For a more detailed look at nutrition, check out The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
Resources
Australia
General
- Body Image: a weight off my mind. A great booklet with activities and places to write your thoughts. Helpful information for everyone, but designed for young woman.
A Weight off My Mind (1Mb)
References
Australian Government Department of Health and Aging 'The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating'
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Australia 'Dietary guidelines for all Australians'
http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/dietsyn.htm
Sustain's Food and Mental Health Project. Changing Diets, Changing Minds: how food affects mental health and behaviour. Online (cited 6/2/06): http://www.sustainweb.org/publications/info/145/
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Youth Healthline on 1300 13 17 19 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).