Diet and nutrition

Diet and Nutrition is the food and drink we consume and the health benefits or negatives that they give our bodies.

Below is some general information on diet recommendations and some useful links to organisations that can provide further information on this subject.

Diet and dieting

Diet is often referred to as dieting which people do to try and lose weight. But diet means the combined intake of food and drink into your body. For good health a balanced diet should be followed by consuming the rights levels of food from all food groups.

Once adulthood is reached, everyone has a fairly steady rate of calorie burn-up, called the metabolic rate. This is higher in people who are regularly physically active. This means that someone who works in a very physical job, such as a building-site labourer, may need as many as 4000 to 5000 calories per day to keep an even weight. This contrasts with an office worker who uses a car and doesn’t exercise, who may need only 1500 calories per day.

A pound of body fat contains 3,500 calories. So to lose a pound in a week you need to eat 500 calories less each day (7 x 500 = 3,500) and vice versa for weight gain. If you do choose to diet to loose weight, you should still try to eat from all the five food groups listed below.

Nutrition

The main food groups are:

Bread, cereals and potatoes

Carbohydrates play an important part of a healthy diet

Fruit and vegetables

You should try and have five portions of these a day in a balance diet.

Meat, fish, eggs and alternatives

Protein is a vital part of any balanced diet.

Milk and dairy products

Help the growth of children and the development of bones. Also prevent bone problems in later life.

Fats and sugars

You shouldn't ban them from your diet, just take care.