About healthy dieting

A healthy diet should

• include variety
• include fresh fruit and vegetables
• be interesting to eat
• be enjoyable
• Should include food free from pesticides and bad chemicals
• Have sufficient fibre for heath
• Include plenty of liquids
• Not have excess of any one thing
• not too much salt
• have the right amount of everything

How to eat more healthily

You don't have to be on a weight loss plan to want to eat better. We should all be eating more fruit and vegetables because they contain vitaminsa and nutrients that protect us from disease.

In the same way as we all wear seat belts in cars we should eat more fruit and veg.

How can you eat better?

By looking at what you buy and eat you will get an idea of your current intake.
There has been a program on TV called "You are what you eat" where Dr Gillian McKeith worked with people referred to as "Britain's worst eaters" and showed them their weeks intake on one table (or in some cases two tables)

Gillian discussed with them the effects of their bad eating, from excessive pop drinking having effects on the bowels to the furry tongue syndrome. By testing fecal samples she really bought home how ill these people were making themselves and recommended new diets for them all.

The new diets were impressive. Vast changes to people's diets - but the effort they put in was rewarded. Weight loss, boundless energy and generally feeling better meant that people stuck at it.

She recommended recipes such as Activator Smoothie, Tofu and Bean Burgers, Avocado Sauce, Mackerel and Pine Nuts

These can be seen on the ch 4 site for the program - this site does have several ads though.
There is a week by week episode guide.
We particularly enjoyed the struggles of Jane and Holly Henwood - we thought this showed how unresponsive kids can be to trying new things but with perserverance they succeeded.

A complete diet overhaul might be too radical for most of us without the prescence of a tv crew but we can all make small changes gradually over time so that we do change how we eat.

If you eat chips a lot now hen try making potatoe wedges yourself - scrubbed segmented spuds and brush lightly with oil and cook til done. Much healthier as they include additional fibre from the skin and less oil.

If you like a lot of fried food then look at different ways of cooking. Try poaching eggs in the microwave (score well and cover else they pop and make a mess)
Look at grilling food more, boiling or steaming.

If you are dieting to lose weight then read your diets instructions carefully if its a low carb diet, or other restrictive diet. It is essential to follow the rules of these low carb diets else you'll be doing yourself more harm than good.