You’ve probably heard people saying it’s important to eat a good and balanced diet.
It’s essential for helping you become a strong and healthy adult.
If you’re a patient at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), you might have to stick to a certain diet to help you manage your condition. But there are some general healthy eating tips we can all follow to get a good nutritional intake on track.
Five a day
We should all be eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Try and get into the routine of eating a fruit snack in the morning, plus a helping of veg or salad and a piece of fruit for both lunch and your evening meal.
You could even try tinned fruit, as long as it’s in juice and not syrup, or dried fruit like apricots, sultanas, raisins, apples and pears.
More healthy snacks
Try replacing snacks with a high sugar/fat/salt content with healthier options, like fruit, oatcakes and breadsticks. You don’t have to cut out bad snacks completely, just eat them occasionally instead of all the time. Get your sweet fix from fruits like banana or strawberries instead of chocolate and sweets.
Fewer fizzy drinks
Swap fizzy drinks for lots of water. Or, try a glass of fruit juice as a substitute instead (but just one glass a day). Fruit juice counts towards your five a day, and will help satisfy your cravings for sweet things.
Variety of foods
The key to healthy eating is to consume a variety of foods from across the food groups. The perfect balance is to get plenty of starchy carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, enough milk, dairy and protein foods, but to go easy on the fats and sugars.
One step at a time
Getting into healthy habits at an early age can have huge benefits right through your life. It can protect you against disease, keep you trim and stop you living off junk food when you leave home.
The rewards from a few simple changes to your diet can be massive. Take it one step at a time and try to have fun with it – you shouldn’t see healthy eating as a chore.