Your Health

Carbohydrates: these provide a source of energy. Foods such as rice, potato, wheat, bread and sugar are a good source of carbohydrates.

Proteins: these provide a source of materials for growth and repair – often referred to as ‘body builders’. Milk, milk products, eggs, meat, fish, soya beans and peas are growth promoting foodstuff. It is very important that growing children have lots of protein in their diet.

Fats: Fats are often labeled as the ‘bad guys', but actually we need some fat to keep us healthy. Fats are a source of energy; they help us to absorb some vitamins and contain important things called essential fatty acids. Lots of people eat too many of the wrong sorts of fats. Saturated fats are the ones we need to watch out for since they raise cholesterol and can block up the arteries to the heart. The following are fat containing foods we should have in our diet: oily fish, nuts and seeds, avocados, sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil spreads and vegetable oils. We still need some sources of saturated fats in our diet such as meat pies, sausages, pastry, cakes and biscuits but just in moderation.

Vitamins: these are required in very small quantities to keep you healthy.
• Vitamin A : helps maintain the health of skin and mucous linings (in the nose for example), helps strengthen immunity from infections and helps vision in dim light. Good sources of vitamin A include cheese, eggs, oily fish (such as mackerel), milk, fortified margarine and yoghurt
• Vitamin B : helps make the red blood cells and keeps the nervous system healthy; helps release energy from the food we eat, and is needed to process folic acid. Vitamin B is found in all meat products and certain algae such as seaweed. Good sources include meat, salmon, cod, milk, cheese, eggs, yeast extract, and some fortified breakfast cereals.
• Vitamin C : helps protect cells and keeps them healthy. It can also help the body absorb iron from food. Good sources include peppers, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, oranges and kiwi fruit.

Minerals: Protect us against diseases and are required for healthy teeth, bones, muscles etc. Important minerals for our body are iron, calcium, zinc etc. We get calcium from milk, cheese and fish, and get iron from green leafy vegetables. Iron helps our blood take up more oxygen. Zinc is found in pulses, meat, seafood etc
Fibre: The main function of fibre is to keep the digestive system healthy and functioning properly. Fibre aids and speeds up the removal of waste and toxins from the body, preventing them from sitting in the intestine or bowel for too long, which could cause a build up and lead to several diseases. Soucres of fibre are fruits, vegetables, lentils, peas, beans, oats, barley, oatmeal, potatoes, dried fruit, soya milk, bran, wholemeal flour and breads, brown rice, whole grain cereals and vegetables.