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Top Ten Christmas Healthy Eating Tips

Avoid bread and pastries at parties!!!

Paula Gilbert, Dietitian now available in Henfield

How much red meat should we eat?

There has been a lot of debate and research on red meat and how much we should eat. A new report written by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) concluded that most people eat healthy amounts of red meat and that there has been a cut in consumption over that last 30 years.

Eating large quantities of red meat or processed meat can increase the risk of of bowel cancer. But eating moderate amounts (500g cooked red meat per week) provides us with a good source of valuable nutrients such as iron, protein, zinc and magnesium and B vitamins.

In addition, farming methods have cut fat levels, protein is filling and there is no conclusive link between cardiovascular disease and red meat.   So enjoy lean red meat but have it in moderation and include other protein sources in your diet such as  white meat, fish, oily fish, eggs and beans.

Putting calorie information on takeaway and fast food menus

The Government is working with fast food and restaurant chains on a voluntary scheme to put calories on menus as part of a strategy to tackle rising obesity.  The aim is to  display calorie information  in fast food outlets including burger chains, sandwich chains as well as pubs and restaurants. According to recent articles in the media McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Subway have agreed to start from September.

I think this is excellent news as I think it will make parents, children and teenagers more aware of the number of calories in fast food and will help them to think about how to save calories and make healthier choices. It will also be useful in addressing portion sizes because it will enable people to compare things like the number of calories in a regular portion of  McDonalds french fries (289 kcals) vs a large portion (460Kcals).

I just hope that small chain or independant fast food outlets will also be encouraged to display nutritional information on their menus as some areas such as Hackney in London (where obesity rates are high) and seaside towns are dominated by independant fast food outlets.

Breakfast and Weight Loss

A recent research study amongst 280 obese and 100 healthy weight adults found that having a big breakfast adds to your daily calorie intake and doesn’t mean you eat less for lunch – so not good news if you are trying to lose weight. They found that having a smaller breakfast helped to keep daily calories down. So nothing particularly surprising really and emphasises the importance of understanding portion sizes.

An important study carried out in 2003 from Harvard business school found that people who eat breakfast every day were a third less likely to be obese than those who skipped breakfast. On the topic, another American large scale study from the National Control Registry of Weight loss Maintainers showed that people who lose weight and keep it off tend to eat breakfast.

So a healthy sized breakfast is an important start to the day for everyone including people who are trying to lose weight. There are plenty of choices which won’t pile on the calories especially if you watch portion sizes such as low sugar wholegrain cereal like porridge or weetabix or poached or boiled eggs, fruit and yogurt or grilled mushrooms or tomatoes on wholegrain toast, smoothies or a banana.

Children and Healthy Eating

Recent research by the University of Bristol has shown a link between a diet high in processed foods and a lower IQ.  This seems to me a reminder of how important it is for children to have a healthy balanced and varied diet.

It is really important for them to have foods from the 4 main food groups ( Fruit and Vegetables, Starchy Carbohydrates, Milk and Dairy and Meat, Fish and Alternatives) so that there bodies are healthy and grow and develop normally.  Unfortunately, lots of children have way too many foods that are high in fats and/or sugars such as chocolate, ice cream, sweets, cakes and processed foods like sausage rolls and crisps which tend to be low in minerals and vitamins that they need.

There are plenty of things parents can do to help to ensure their children are eating healthily and are a healthy weight.  Here are some ideas to start with.

• Complete a food diary to work out how many sugary/fatty foods your child/children are having a day
• Aim for 1 a day
• Think of ways to swop these foods with healthier alternatives such as fruit, low fat yogurt, low fat dip and carrot sticks.
• Join the Change4Life Swapathon which has lists of food swaps.

Tips on how to eat less fat

Fat is very calorie dense so it makes sense to eat less if you are trying to lose weight.

Here are a few ideas to help

1. Cut back on high fat snacks such as crisps, biscuits, chocolate, cakes, ice cream. This can be done in stages by working out how many you have a week and then gradually reducing this.
2. Use low fat cooking methods such as grilling, baking, casseroless, boiling, poaching or steaming
3. Buy lean meat
4. Lighter meats such as turkey and chicken breasts are lower in fats than darker meats such as lamb
5. Use a non-stick frying pan which means you can cook without oil or with a tiny amount
5. Measure out oil when cooking, making dressings etc with a spoon rather than just pouring
6. Use low fat salad dressings and contact us for some delicious low fat dressings to make at home
7. Use light or low fat versions of spreads, yogurts, mayonnaise etc
8. When following recipes experiment with reducing the amount of fat recommended. Try using half the recommended amount

Food Intolerance testing

Paula Gilbert SRD is a senior partner of The Diet Practice Horsham.  In addition to the existing services offered by The Diet Practice Horsham Paula brings many years’ experience and expertise in food intolerances.

She has developed a comprehensive and effective service for clients which incorporates a variety of tools and evidence based techniques to help identify or confirm specific food intolerances.  These include food and symptom diaries, food intolerance screening tests and elimination diets.   As well as helping to identify food intolerances Paula can work with you on a way forward which might involve eliminating a specific food or ingredient and gradually reintroducing  it whilst always ensuring your diet is nutritionally balanced.

An initial one hour appointment is £90

Follow up appointments are £30 for 30 minutes

Our new leaflet

We proudly announce the launch of our new leaflet.. you can download it by clicking on the picture below.

Download the PDF leaflet here