10 Tips to Healthy Eating
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1 The Choice of Food Introductory Quiz - Choosing Healthy Foods - Healthy Eating Checkup Do you eat pretty much the same foods each week? Yes Mostly No How often do you eat legumes? (That's foods like lentils (=leča), dried peas and beans) Never Once in a while Weekly Twice a week Do you eat whole grain foods rather than white bread and refined cereals? Never Occasionally Most of the time How many servings of grain products do you eat each day? 1 - 2 3 - 5 6 + Do you always put butter or margarine on bread and toast? Yes Yes, but I use "light" and only a very little Never Sometimes Not if I'm using mayo in the filling Not if I can use jam or mustard What type of milk do you drink? Skim or 1% 2% Whole (fat) or Homo(geneous) Don't drink milk but eat other milk products 2 How often do you eat fast food meals? Once a week More than once a week A couple of times a month Once a month Very seldom How often do you eat rich desserts? Daily 2-3 times a week Maybe once a week Just on special occasions What kind of breakfast do you usually eat? Bacon, Eggs and toast Don't eat breakfast Cereal, Juice Toast or Muffin with jam and a little bit of margarine, fruit or juice Toast or Muffin with cheese or peanut butter What are you most likely to snack on? Fruit, low-fat cheese, crackers, muffin, juice Chips, cheeses, taco chips Popcorn, pretzels Cookies, cake, ice cream How many alcoholic drinks do you usually have in one day? 1 - 2 More than 2 Don't drink everyday 3 Food pyramids Food pyramids should not be regarded as rules or recipes; they are only guidelines to healthy eating. Using a pyramid shape to show what foods you should eat began when the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Food Guide Pyramid in 1992. Since then several pyramids have been added to the gallery to reflect the eating habits of different ages (kids and seniors) and points of view about what makes a diet healthy. The latest addition, called the Healthy Eating Pyramid, reflects the most current nutrition research available, according to its creators at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. 4 The major difference between the new pyramid and the USDA's original one focuses on the balance of carbohydrates and fats. For a decade, doctors and food experts told people to eat more carbohydrates and avoid fats. But people in the United States and around the world have become obese at an alarming rate, leading researchers to question their nutritional advice. The Healthy Eating Pyramid breaks carbs and fats into good and bad, rather than lumping them together. The new pyramid suggests other major changes as well, including: Sharply restricting red meat, potatoes and refined grains, such as white bread Limiting dairy products to one or two servings a day Replacing unhealthy saturated (=nasičen) fat with healthier unsaturated vegetable oils Consuming large amounts of whole grains, fruits and vegetables Taking a daily multivitamin Drinking limited amounts of alcohol 10 TIPS TO HEALTHY EATING 1. Eat a Variety of Foods You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health and no single food can supply them all. You might buy fresh foods to cook, take advantage of ready-prepared dishes and meals or buy "take-away" foods. Balance your choice over time! If you have a high-fat lunch, 5 have a low-fat dinner. If you eat a large serving of meat at dinner one day, perhaps choose fish the next day. 2. Base your diet on plenty of foods rich in carbohydrates Most people do not eat enough of foods such as bread, pasta, rice, other cereals and potatoes. Nearly half the calories in your diet should come from these foods. Try wholegrain bread, pasta and other cereals too to increase your fibre intake. 3. Enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables Most of us do not eat enough of these foods either although they provide important protective nutrients. Try to eat at least five servings a day. 4. Maintain a healthy body weight and feel good The weight that is right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Being overweight increases your chances of a wide range of diseases/illnesses including heart disease and cancer. Excess body fat results from eating more calories than you need. These extra calories can come from any caloric nutrient - protein, fat, carbohydrate or alcohol- but fat is the most concentrated source of calories. Physical activity is a good way of spending energy (calories). The message is simple: if you are gaining weight, you need to eat less and be more active. 5. Eat moderate portions - reduce, don't eliminate foods If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat all the foods you enjoy without having to eliminate any. For example, some reasonable serving sizes are: 100g of meat; one medium piece of fruit, half a cup of raw pasta and 50ml of ice-cream. 6. Eat regularly Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in careless overeating. Snacking between meals can stop hunger, but don't eat so much as to substitute for proper meals. 7. Drink plenty of fluids Adults need to drink at least 1.5 litres of fluid a day! Or more if it's very hot or they are physically active. Plain tap water is obviously a good source of liquid, but choose also from juices, soft drinks, tea, coffee, milk etc. 8. Get on the move Moderate physical activity helps burn off the extra calories. It is also good for the heart and circulatory system and for general health and well-being. So, make physical activity part of your daily routine. Use the stairs instead of the lift\elevator (up and down!). Go for a walk in your lunch break. 9. Start now! - and make changes gradually Gradual changes in your lifestyle are much easier to make than major changes all at once. For three days, write down the foods and drinks you consume at meals (breakfast, lunch, 6 dinner) and as snacks - Do you have too few fruits and\or portions of vegetables? To start with, try to eat just one extra piece of fruit and vegetables a day. Are your favourite foods high in fat and making you gain weight? Try to choose low fat options or eat smaller portions. 10. Remember, there are no "good" or "bad" foods There are no 'good' or 'bad' foods, only good or bad diets. Don't feel guilty about the foods you love, rather eat them in moderation and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health. FOOD – HEALTHY EATING - EXERCISES a) Are the following sentences TRUE or FALSE? 1. Ready-prepared dishes and take-away meals don’t supply enough nutrients. ___ 2. Eat wholegrain bread, pasta and other cereals to increase your fibre intake. ___ 3. Protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol are caloric nutrients, but alcohol is the most caloric of them all. ___ 4. If you eat moderate portions, you eat in abundance. ___ 5. Snack could be a substitute for a proper meal like lunch or dinner. ___ b) Explain the following words in English: ready-prepared dishes skipping meals snacking diet maintaining body weight moderate serving size c) Fill in the missing words To keep your body healthy, you need more than 40 different ____________. To achieve this, you need to eat a v____________ of foods. Food such as pasta, bread and cereals is rich in c____________, but it also increases you f____________ ____________. You don’t have to eliminate any food, just eat it in m____________ p____________. It’s also better to eat w____________ foods than white bread and r____________ cereals or rice. The food pyramid is based on a current n____________ advice. d) Answer these questions about healthy eating: 1. What is the role of the food pyramid? 2. Why is the shape of the pyramid the most convenient one? 3. Which kinds of food form the basis of healthy eating? 4. Which foods are located at the tip of the pyramid? 5. Why is the balance in choice of foods so important? 6. Which nutrients are provided by fruit and vegetables? 7. How can we maintain proper body weight? 8. How much should we drink daily? Which drinks are healthy? 9. Why is physical activity good for health? e) Food for thought: What do your answers to the quiz questions tell you about your manner of eating? Do you think any changes are needed in your eating habits? What are you ready to change? Why? .