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Healthy Food: Healthy You

by Frann Leach

You are what you eat, as they used to say, and this means that you need healthy food if you want a healthy body.

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We all have to eat. Unfortunately, it seems that most of us prefer junk food to a properly balanced diet. Burgers and chips may taste nice; they may fill you up, but they will not contribute to your longterm health. This is a fast-growing problem in the West. There are now more obese people in North America than not, and it's beginning to get that way over here in the UK as well.

The importance of good nutrition

The problem is not just that most fast food is high in fat (and calories), but it also lacks many of the nutrients that our bodies need to stay healthy.

Even though many people regularly eat more calories than they actually use, it's more than likely that they are not getting all the vitamins, minerals and fibre that they need. So, not only are they laying down a layer of fat, causing a weight increase which will make life harder (many people are carrying round the equivalent of one or two large suitcases in excess weight), but they are also malnourished! Their body does not have the building blocks it needs to deal with the things that life throws at us from day to day. It's a double whammy - excess weight and a lack of the vital components for life. And all because of the food we eat.

There are so many tasty things to eat that aren't laden with calories. Top of the list of healthy food is fish: either wetfish or shellfish. Until recently, it's been hard to get good quality fresh fish in many areas, but now you can have top quality produce delivered to your door. Martin's Seafoods deliver throughout the UK to your door. Everything from lobsters and crabs to natural oak smoked kippers. Mmmmm.

Not everybody likes fish, and if you prefer meat, you need to be a bit more careful. The fat in meat is saturated fat, the worst kind, from the health point of view. Plus, meat tends to contain more fat than fish, and since fat contains three times as many calories as protein and carbohydrate, the other main food groups, you don't want to eat too much of it.

So choose leaner types of meat: chicken and turkey, for example. If you go for red meat, choose the leaner cuts (steak, cutlets), or mince containing 5% or less fat (Tesco do this, probably other supermarkets also have it). You can also get turkey mince, which is naturally low in fat and makes an interesting change to your mince and tatties!

Frying food may be easy, but it adds on hundreds of calories in one go. Plus, if you think about how horrible it is to clean a kitchen where a lot of frying happens - imagine how that sticky coating affects your insides! Instead of frying food, try different recipes, or use the grill (or a Lean Machine). The food will be just as tasty (more so, in my opinion) but with less of the grease.

Another thing you can do to improve the balance in your diet is to eat less of the main course: a smaller steak, for example. Add a few more potatoes (not fried) and vegetables or salad, if you like. Follow up the main meal with some fruit (perhaps with a yoghurt poured over it), or a light dessert (read the label, go for low fat) without cream.

If you need to lose weight, these suggestions will go a long way to reducing your energy intake to a level where this is possible. But even if you don't want to, they will contribute to a healther, more balanced diet and a more energetic lifestyle.