Healthy Eating
As a teenager, your body is going through a number of changes and it is important you support it with a healthy balance diet.
Eatwell Guide
The Eatwell guide represents a varied balanced diet, you should be able to get all the nutrients and energy which you need to grow and develop, from the food and drink which you consume. The Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group.
Eating healthy doesn‘t mean we have to give upon our favourite foods.
High fat, salt and sugar foods
However, we should be cutting down on food and drinks high in fat and sugar, such as sugary fizzy drinks, energy drinks, fast food, sweets, crisps, cakes and chocolate. These foods should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts.
These food contain lots of calories, consuming too many calories can leadto weight gain and becoming overweight. Try switching snacks which are high in fat, salt and sugar for healthier alternatives.
5 A Day
Most of us are still not eating enough fruit and vegetable. We should be aiming for 5 per days. They should make up over a third of the food we eat each day.
Aim to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg each day. Choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced. Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins, minerals and fibre.
Remember that fruit juice and/or smoothies should be limited to no more than a combined total of 150ml per day.
Breakfast
Skipping meals won‘t help you lose weight and means you can miss out on important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Having breakfast will give you energy for the day ahead!
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps keep bones and teeth healthy. We get most of our vitamin D from the sun, but it is also available in some foods such as oily fish (salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel), red meat, liver, egg yolks and some breakfast cereals which have been fortified.
Iron
If you often feel run down, you may be low on iron. Teenage girls are especially at risk because they lose iron during their period. Try to get your iron from a variety of foods. Some good sources are red meat, breakfast cereals fortified with iron, and bread.
Calcium
Calcium helps to build strong bones and teeth. Good sources of calcium include milk and other dairy products, and leafy green vegetables.
Hydration
You should aim to drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluids a day, water and lower-fat milk are both healthy choices.
Even unsweetened fruit juice is sugary.
Your combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies shouldn‘t be more than 150ml a day, which is a small glass. For example, if you have 150ml of orange juice and 150ml smoothie in one day, you‘ll have exceeded the recommendation by 150ml.
