Posts Tagged ‘healthy eating’

Fish Oils and Being Physically Active

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Joint pain is not pleasant, and today, more and more people are beginning to suffer from joint pain at earlier ages than before. Active people, are complaining about sore, stiff and painful joints, and looking for a good natural relief from this discomfort. Fish oils are considered a dietary means of helping to deal with painful joint pain.

 

Why fish oil?

Well, fish oil contains EPA and DHA, commonly referred to as omega-3 fatty acids. Omega 3 has a number of beneficial effects on the body, including the joints. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce inflammation by interfering with the production of inflammation-producing chemicals which stimulate pain nerves in the tissues. When you add these benefits to the others known to be associated with fish oil like lowering triglycerides, reducing the risk of blood clots, and benefiting both the heart and brain, there is no doubt that it is a beneficial joint supplements.

 

What foods contain omega 3?

Oily fish is the richest source of Omega 3. This includes salmon, mackerel, rainbow trout, fresh tuna, herring, shrimp, crab, sardines and pilchards. Weaker sources include flaxseed or linseed oil, rapeseed or canola oil, walnuts, and dark green vegetables.

 

How much should I eat?

2 portions of fish per week, at least one of which must be oily is sufficient for general health. This is equivalent to 500mg of Omega 3. 3-4 portions of oily fish, or 1000mg, is strongly recommended if you have heart disease or are at risk of heart disease.

 

Do I need a supplement?

You do not need a supplement if you are eating oily fish as recommended. If you dislike fish or have high requirements for omega 3, taking omega 3 in supplement form should be considered. There are many Omega 3 supplements on the market.

Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

Monday, July 2nd, 2012

Ingredients

1 banana

200ml low fat strawberry yoghurt

120ml low fat milk

120ml crushed ice

Method

  1. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.
  2. Blend for 30 seconds to a smooth, thick drink.
  3. Pour into a tall glass, add ice and strawberries to decorate if you wish.

 

Getting Active for Kids

Monday, June 18th, 2012

 

We all want our children to grow up to be happy, healthy adults. Whatever Active kidstheir weight it is important that children eat properly and get lots of exercise to build a healthy body.

Children need to do at least 60 minutes of activity a day to help them stay happy and healthy. Activity does not always have to mean sport – running around and having fun outside counts too.

The following activity chart should help us all to do something active every day.

  • Try to do at least 20 minutes of green activity every day.
  • Work towards 60 minutes of green and amber activities every day.
  • Agree on a limit to spend on red activities every day.

Green (Very active)

Playing outside – football, skipping, dancing, swimming, cycling.

Amber (Moderately active)

Walking to school, cleaning your room, washing the car, getting off the bus one stop earlier.

Red (Non active)

Spending time on the computer / play station, watching TV.

 

Try to spend more time on green and amber activities and less on red.

Food labels – sugar, fat and saturated fat. How much is OK?

Monday, May 7th, 2012

Today more and more of us are becoming aware of how important what we eat is to our health and well-being. There’s lots of information about the value of healthy eating but it’s often difficult to work out how much of everything we should be eating as part of a healthy diet. This is especially true of food labelling – all the facts and figures can be very confusing and sometimes hard to understand.

In this blog Sabrina will help you to decide what would be considered a low or high amount of sugar and fat? Also, when looking at food labels what do you need to focus on – do you look at the ‘per serving’ or ‘per 100g’? So here’s the general rule thumb when looking at a food label.

Firstly, do you use ‘per serving’ or ‘per 100g’?

As a guide use the serving size when that is the amount you are going to have for the whole day, for instance, a ready meal, if it’s something you are likely to have in smaller amounts throughout the day, for instance, snacks look at the per 100g.

As for if is it healthy or not…

Sugar: Try to keep sugar intake low.

15g is high.

5g is low.

Fat: Ideally you want to keep fat intake low.

20g is high.

3g is low.

Be warned – when reading food labels there is a difference between carbohydrate and sugar. A high carbohydrate value is fine as long as the ‘amount as sugars’ value is low.

Spinach Omelette

Monday, April 23rd, 2012

Preparation - 5 minutes

Cooking time – 10 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients

25g butter

60g baby spinach leaves

1 spring onion sliced

2 eggs, beaten

100g crumbled feta cheese

Salt and pepper

Fresh sage sprigs, to garnish

8 cherry tomatoes, grilled for serving

 

Method

  1. Melt 15g butter in a non-stick pan, add the spinach, and stir until wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then lift from the pan, and drain well. Chop half the spinach and keep the rest warm.
  2. Melt the remaining butter, add the spring onion, and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, season, and cook gently until the eggs are set.
  3. Fill the omelette with the chopped spinach and feta cheese then fold in half. Remove from the pan and top with the remaining spinach. Garnish with sage sprigs and serve with the tomatoes on the side.

 

 

Easter Eggstravaganza

Monday, April 9th, 2012

So it’s Easter time again! As I researched the content for this blog I came across this article on the Daily Mail website and decided to share it with you all. It’s definitely an interesting read. I hope this helps to keep you all on the right track. Enjoy!

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-382232/Easter-Eggstravaganza-Surviving-Easter-diet.html

Starting to Exercise

Monday, March 26th, 2012

As we reported previously, being physically active can reduce risk of heart disease. It can also help to keep the lungs healthy, tone muscles, keep bones strong and help to burn calories so that you lose weight.

Health experts recommend 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity five times a week. It might sound like hard work but fast walking counts as a ‘moderate intensity’ exercise.

Better still, you don’t have to do 30 minutes in one go – it’s fine to do two blocks of 15 minutes or even three blocks of 10 minutes if you prefer. If you’ve never exercised or you haven’t been physically active for a long time, it’s worth getting the once over from your GP before starting out.

Then, follow these tips….

No matter what your age, level of fitness, ability, size or shape, there’s an exercise out there that’s right for you so start doing some research to find some activities that will suit you and your lifestyle.

Investigate what’s on offer in your local area – phone around the leisure centres, gyms and pools and find out about times, availability and prices.

Don’t narrow your choices down to the gym or class based activities. Explore other ideas.

Always warm up properly before taking part in exercise. You’re far more likely to injure yourself if your muscles haven’t been warmed up. Remember to cool down, too.

Start gradually and slowly increase the amount and intensity of the activity you’re doing. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll see an improvement.

Vegetarian Eating

Monday, March 12th, 2012

A well planned vegetarian diet can be nutritionally balanced for both adults and children however it is very important not to simply avoid animal products but to substitute them with nutritious alternatives such as dairy foods, eggs, pulses, nuts, seeds, and cereals.

 

There are 2 main types of vegetarians –

 

Lacto-ovo vegetarians.

Lacto-ovo vegetarians avoid meat, poultry and fish but eat eggs, milk and dairy products as well as cereals, vegetables, pulses, grains, seeds and nuts. The nutritional issues that these group face are similar to those following a conventional diet i.e. watch out for high fat, high salt. Choose mainly low fat cheese for example Edam, Gouda along with plenty of grains, vegetables, and fruits. Ensure you take an iron and folic acid supplement before during pregnancy as requirements are higher for these nutrients.

 

Vegans

Vegans avoid meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and dairy produce but eat cereals, fruit, vegetables, pulses, grains, seeds and nuts. Vegans have very different nutritional issues. Without any foods of animal origin getting enough calories to maintain a healthy weight can be difficult especially for growing children and nutrients such as Vitamin B12 and iron (needed for healthy red blood cells),Vitamin D and calcium (needed for healthy bones/teeth) and zinc (essential for healthy growth) all require special attention.

 

How to achieve a healthy vegetarian diet

The current healthy eating guidelines recommend that we reduce fat, sugar and salt in our diets and eat more fruit and vegetables; this can be achieved by a vegetarian diet. No single food contains all the nutrients that our bodies need so a variety is required.

 

Cereals, rice, potato and pasta group

6+ portions recommended/day. Choose fortified cereals to help with iron and Vitamin B12 intakes.

Fruit and vegetable group

5 or more recommended daily. Good sources of Vitamin A and C and folic acid.

Milk and dairy group.

The main nutrients supplied by this group are calcium, Vitamin B12, protein, energy and Vitamin A. Soya Milk and products are used by those following a vegan diet but ensure that the products you choose are fortified with calcium, to help meet your requirements.

The meat alternative group

This group includes peas, beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, seeds, textured vegetable protein, quorn cheese and eggs.

Fats and oil group

This group also contains sugar sweets confectionary, crisps, biscuits etc. Vegetarians who require a higher energy may need to include additional servings from this group.

 

Baked Cod with a Herby Crust

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Preparation time - Less than 30 minutes

Cooking time - 10 – 30 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 2 x 180g pieces of cod fillet
  • 2 tbsp fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
  • 2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs – chives, parsley, coriander – chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed finely
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

  1. Heat the oven to 200oC.
  2. Mix together the herbs, garlic and oil. Stir in the breadcrumbs and season well.
  3. Spread this mixture over the fish.
  4. Put the fish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the flesh becomes opaque and flakes easily.

 

How to Eat Out Healthily on Valentine’s Day

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Valentine’s Day might mean that there is a chance you’ll be eating out. However, eating out usually means that we have little control over how the food is prepared or how large the portion is. Unlike packaged food, foods bought from cafes, restaurants etc. don’t have to carry nutritional information and so opting for the healthiest option might not always be easy. However, with these helpful tips eating out on Valentine’s Day can be both enjoyable and healthy!

General tips

  • Never arrive at a restaurant hungry!
  • Think ahead, if you know you’re eating out later, choose wisely earlier in the day to keep calories, fat, sugar and salt intakes under control.
  • Leave a little time for your food to digest before you order a dessert. Give your stomach time to send signals to your brain you are full (approx 20 minutes). If you still want a dessert, consider splitting it with one of your friends. Opt for sorbets, or fruit dishes to balance out a heavy main course.
  • Speak up about how you’d like a dish prepared e.g. ask for no mayonnaise.
  • You’re more likely to overeat at an ‘all you can eat’ style buffet.
  • Choose side orders of salad or vegetables to fill up on.
  • Cut off any visible fat from meat to keep saturated fat intake down.
  • Look out for smaller portions i.e. a main meal option as a starter size.
  • Opt for dishes which are grilled, baked, steamed, poached rather than fried.
  • Check the menu for dressings on salads and ask for it to be on the side. An otherwise healthy and nutritious salad could be drowned in a high fat sauce, bumping up its calorie content.
  • Avoid cheese, cream or butter-based sauces