Active Nutrition

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of achieving good health. It doesn’t have to be difficult either. Active Tamworth has some top tips to help you get started.

Useful links

Change for Life website
DrinkAware's Unit and Calorie Counter
NHS Calorie Checker
The British Nutrition Foundation website

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables
It is recommended that we eat at least portions of different types of fruit and vegetables a day. Even though this sounds a lot people often forget that a glass of unsweetened fruit juice or vegetables cooked into dinners all count.

Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, fresh tuna and sardines are high in omega-3 which helps to prevent heart disease. You should aim to eat two portions of fish per week.

Eat less salt
An important fact to think about the next time you go to add salt to your meal is that 75% of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy. Breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces are all high in salt. Eating too much can lead to high blood pressure which means you are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.

Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
We all need some fat in our diet, but it’s important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat we are eating. There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fat is the one to stay away from, it is commonly found in cheese, cakes, biscuits, sausages, cream, lard, butter and pies. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood which increases your risk of heart disease.

It is important to try to cut down on sugary drinks, alcoholic drinks, cakes, biscuits and pastries which all contain added sugars rather than sugars that are found naturally in foods such as fruit and milk.

Eat your breakfast
You’ve heard it all before, but breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Some people skip breakfast as they think it will help them lose weight, this couldn’t be further from the truth as research shows eating breakfast can help people control their weight. A healthy breakfast is an important part of a balanced diet and provides some of the vitamins and minerals vital to good health.