We need fat in order to live. It serves many vital functions, providing energy for the body and helping with the absorption of vitamins and minerals. However some fats are better for the body than others…
Fats – good or bad?
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Category Archives: Healthy eating
Back to basics
A balanced diet is not just about calories; the source of those calories will influence the overall quality of your diet and the true nutritional value.
Ideally we should be aiming for 50% of our calories being provided by carbohydrates, 35% by fats and 15% by protein. That really isn’t very helpful, when we can’t visualise those calories to start with but there’s a useful Public Health England graphic known as the eatwell plate …
Fewer larger meals versus more small snacks
Mail Online: ‘Two hearty meals each day better for you than 6 snacks: Eating a big breakfast and lunch helps control weight and blood sugar levels.’
Should everyone switch to just two meals a day?
Superfoods
How many do you have in your kitchen?
Chia seeds, goji berries, wheatgrass, white tea… the list seems to get longer every week as another ‘superfood’ hits the headlines. Some less exotic everyday foods fit the bill, some may have even more antioxidants than the superfoods and many may already be in your fridge, freezer or cupboard.
Fats: friend or foe?
If you pay attention to the popular press and to some of the government’s healthy eating messages you may be thinking that fats are universally bad for us. Does fat have any real value to us? It’s OK to eat ‘good fats’ isn’t it?
Friendly bacteria, probiotics and prebiotics – allies or fads?
Bacteria are just about everywhere in the environment as well as in, and on, us. They live throughout the human gut but the greatest concentrations are in the large intestine (bowel) where up to 1000 species of bacteria can be found.
We should aim to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria within the gut. This balance can be disturbed by a number of factors including antibiotics, stress, poor diet and living conditions, concurrent diseases and allergic reactions. Probiotics and prebiotics are agents employed in restoring the balance and/or protecting against disruption.
Food Safety
Food safety and good food hygiene are important in the home as well as in restaurants and other food outlets.
Illnesses that are caused by ‘something I ate’ are all too common. Micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses and moulds found in food can cause food poisoning, leading to the well-known symptoms of stomach pains, diarrhoea and vomiting.
Contaminated foods will usually look, smell and taste normal, so following a few simple guidelines can help prevent food poisoning affecting you and your family.
Oat cuisine
I’m often asked what makes a good breakfast. As with any meal, it should comprise balanced amounts of carbohydrate, fruit / vegetables, protein and fat. There are many options available to fulfil those criteria however one of the simplest, and most nutritious, is porridge.
Porridge, and oat-based muesli, contains something called oat beta-glucan which is a soluble form of fibre.
Tooth-friendly snacks
Constant snacking can be harmful to teeth. Eating sugary foods or drinks produces acids that attack teeth. Our saliva takes an hour to neutralise those acids after each snack.
But don’t despair! There are lots of snack choices that are healthy for teeth as well as for our bodies.