FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Eggs are a great source of protein and essential vitamins and minerals, the more likely culprit for high cholesterol in the diet is the excess saturated fat in our diets such as full fat cheese, whole milk and fatty cuts of meat. The way in which you cook your eggs can affect the cholesterol content such as frying in butter or the addition of cheese. Try just boiling, poaching, or scrambling eggs with no fat.
Below are some healthier alternatives to the usual crisps, sweets and chocolate.
- Milk or yogurt based drink.
- Dried fruit – a natural sugar boost with lots of vitamins and minerals too.
- Vegetable crudities with a tablespoon of houmous.
- Reduced fat natural yogurt with some blueberries or raspberries.
- Mixed unsalted nuts (25-35g).
- Baked crisps instead of fried crisps.
- Popcorn – ideally unsweetened and unsalted of course!
- Fresh fruit
The government guidelines advise that you should have no more than 70g of processed meat a day. Some types of meat are high in fat, particularly saturated fat. So when you’re buying meat, remember that the type of cut or meat product you choose, and how you cook it, can make a big difference. To cut down on fat: choose lean cuts of meat and go for leaner mince, cut the fat off of meat and the skin off of chicken, try to grill meat and fish instead of frying and have a boiled or poached egg instead of fried. If you eat more than 70g of red or processed meat per day, try to cut down. The term processed meat includes sausages, bacon, cured meats and reformed meat products.
New government guidelines for men and women are the same, which is no more than 14 units a week this is the equivalent of 6 glasses of wine (175ml glasses at 13%wine).
No, we would advise you try to use the Eatwell guide for guidance on your diet. Try to do the below for a balanced diet.
- Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
- Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; choosing wholegrain versions where possible
- Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soy drinks); choosing lower fat and lower sugar options
- Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)
- Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and eat in small amounts
- Drink 6 to 8 cups/glasses of fluid a day
- If consuming foods and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar have these less often and in small amounts
We should be getting at least 60 minutes of physical activity everyday but this doesn’t need to be continuous for the whole time. A bout of exercise is classed as anything over 10 minutes of continuous exercise.
There are a number of activities you can do without joining a gym such as, home exercises there are plenty of quick home workouts available for you to choose from, just have a browse online. If you live near a park or have your own garden, use it. Find a patch of green and get working! You can do stationary exercise such as star/lunge jumps or core exercises like planks – all of these work you hard and challenge your body! Parks are also great if you fancy a jog/run– make the most those open air spaces whenever you can. Instead of driving your car or using public transport, why not cycle or walk to work? This can easily increase your daily physical activity, cardiovascular fitness and wake you up before your working day!
Yes! Although dairy products are the best known source of calcium, they are excluded from vegan and milk intolerant diets. Many vegetables and other food types also provide us with the calcium we require to maintain healthy bones and teeth.
These include bitter green vegetables such as:
- Broccoli, kale, bok choy, okra but NOT spinach.
Fish where you eat the bones:
- Sardines, whitebait, pilchards.
Fortified foods, such as bread and cereals are fortified with calcium in production.
And other sources including: tofu, almonds and figs.
NB. A handful of dried figs contains the same amount of calcium as a glass of semi skimmed milk!
One portion of fresh fruit or vegetable intake is classified as 80g. However a portion of fruit in a different variety can alter how much you have to eat in order for it to class as a portion for example one portion of dried fruit is classed as 30g and a glass of fruit juice or smoothie is 150ml but be aware that fruit juices can only ever count as one portion of your 5 a day.
Taking supplements does not have the same health benefits as consuming a healthy balanced diet and consuming the nutrients from their natural source. Following the healthy eating principles set out in the Eatwell Guide should provide you will all the vitamins and minerals you need to lead a healthy lifestyle and therefore there should no need to take dietary supplements. There are some exceptions to this for example during pregnancy women may need to take supplements of folic acid as this nutrient is found in very low amounts in foods and helps prevent neural tube defects. It is recommended that everyone take a vitamin D supplement of 10mcg/day especially during the winter months.
According to the Eatwell guide starchy foods should make up over a third of our diet and it is recommended that we choose wholegrain or higher fibre versions wherever possible such as wholegrain pasta, rice, cereals and bread. Wholegrain foods are more beneficial to use because they often contain higher quantities of some nutrients – fibre being one of them – which helps keeps our digestive systems healthy. Wholegrain foods also release energy slower meaning we feel fuller for longer therefore helping us to maintain our weight by snacking less!