Eating Healthily

Eating healthily means having regular meals three or four times a day. It also means having a good balance of foods that contain protein and carbohydrate but not too much fat or sugar.  Skipping meals like breakfast and lunch can give you low energy levels all day and can also make you hungrier so you eat more later.

Food Pyramid

A healthy meal is a bit like a pyramid with the right balance of food groups.  It has lots of carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables, some meat and dairy products, and a small amount of sugar and fat. 

Sugar and Fat

Our bodies need only small amounts of sugar or fat to be healthy.  But sugar and fat make things taste good - like cakes and sweets.  Having a little every day is important for health, however, too much sugar and fat can cause obesity.

Milk and Dairy

Milk and other dairy products like cheese and yoghurt are important because they are full of calcium to give us healthy bones. Dairy products contain a lot of protein and fat, which are important for growth.  To be healthy, just have a couple of servings of dairy each day.

Meat

Meat of all sorts is the best source of protein for growth and iron for healthy blood.  Meat also contains some fat, particularly red meat.  More than 2 servings of meat per day gives you too much fat.

Vegetables

Vegetables should be the second largest part of a healthy meal.  They give you protein for growing as well as some energy, but most importantly they are full of vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy.  You should have at least 3 servings of vegetables each day to be as healthy as you can.

Fruit

Sugar and starch are carbohydrates that are the body's main source of energy.  Sugar gives you energy straight away.  Starch (found in pasta, potatoes, bread and rice) gives you energy for hours.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrates like bread, rice, cereal and pasta are on the bottom of the pyramid because they should make up more of your meal than anything else. This is because they give you the most energy and fill you up.