Alison Head of Projects
If you have kids at school, you may already be aware that it’s Healthy Eating Week. The British Nutrition Foundation promotes this fun incentive for all schools and nurseries this week, 3rd to 7th June, and if it’s the same as last year when 3,250 schools registered, then thousands of schools and nurseries should take part this time round too.
This aim of this healthy eating week is to familiarise kids with what’s healthy when it comes to food and drink, show them how they can be more active (and the benefits an active lifestyle can give), as well as improve their understanding of where food comes from. Kids will also get fun chances to cook and plan meals with live ‘cook-a-longs’ led by BNF staff if their school is taking part. The BNF has done a great job getting schools and nurseries to join in the healthy eating week by offering the ‘cook-a-long’ opportunities and further incentives in the form of free posters and stickers, tutorial time activities, live online presentations and activity videos, prizes and certificates.
Here at Eat Marketing, we thought it would be fun to celebrate healthy eating week in our own way. We’ve come up with some interesting healthy eating facts that could make all the difference when it comes to your own healthy lifestyle. Our top tips for healthy eating week…and for life:
Rise and shine…and eat!
Breakfast is so important. Feed your body and mind by starting the day with a healthy breakfast and get your metabolism going.
Get active!
Make sure you find the time in your daily lifestyle for physical activity. Choose from aerobic exercise such as walking or running, muscle-strengthening exercise such as weights, bone strengthening choices to keep fit such as skipping, and stretching activities such as yoga or dancing. Or, even better, combine a few of these for all-round fitness.
Keep it fresh
Go for natural foods such as fruits, veggies, lean meats, low fat dairy and whole grains. Stay away from foods with unnatural preservatives and additives as they have a negative impact on your body and general sense of well being.
No more fizz
Did you know a can of fizzy pop (sugar varieties) may have a whopping 10 teaspoons of sugar in it? That’s a lot of sugar!
Fill up on fish!
Fish is a fantastic source of protein and is packed with vitamins and minerals so try to have two or three portions a week. Include a wide variety of fish choices to get the most out of your fish quota – include oily fish, which is high in omega-3 fats (mackerel, trout, fresh tuna, etc), and non-oily fish such as haddock or cod.
Cut the sat fat
Saturated fat is found in so many naughty but nice foods such as pies, cakes, cream, biscuits and hard cheese and while these foods may taste nice, they are not so good for your health! Try to cut the saturated fat down as too much can increase your cholesterol levels, which in turn increases your risk of developing heart disease.
Say no to salt
Many of us eat too much salt, and we don’t even know it because even if you don’t add salt to your food, it is hidden in so many foods we buy such as sauces, breads and even cereals. Eating too much salt is bad for blood pressure – and high blood pressure can lead to heart disease or stroke.
Water! Water! Water!
Are you drinking enough? We all need to drink about 1.2 litres of fluid a day to keep us from dehydration. Although all non-alcohol drinks count, the best fluid is just plain water. For example, you may think fruit juices are a ‘healthy’ choice, but many are full of natural sugars which can affect teeth and raise your blood sugar levels.
We hope our top tips helped! Although it’s healthy eating week this week, the healthy plans don’t need to stop once these few days are over! Adopting a healthier lifestyle is easy when you know how, and you’ll feel so much better for it too!
What are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
