Too much emphasis cannot be placed on how important diet and nutrition is to a healthy lifestyle. In this section we highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle, to maintain your new look and to engender a more positive lifestyle in general:

Diet and nutrition

Healthy Eating:

The importance of a healthy and varied diet A well balanced diet is important for good health. A healthy, varied diet can help to maintain healthy body weight, increase general wellbeing and also reduce the risk of a large number of diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis. What is a healthy diet? Many people have different ideas and approaches to this issue - some people swear by the Atkins diet, or the South beach diet, or the newest ‘fad’ diet of the moment. However collective medical wisdom has consistently maintained a few basic facts to illustrate a typical healthy diet, for example; a diet based on breads, potatoes, and other cereals, rich in fruits and vegetables is considered healthy. A healthy diet will also include moderate amounts of milk and dairy products, meat and fish with limited amounts of foods containing fat or sugar.

No single food will provide all of the essential nutrients needed by your body. It is therefore very important to consume a wide variety of foods in order to provide adequate intake of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre, all of which are important for your health and general wellbeing.

8 guidelines for a healthy diet

• Enjoy your food
• Eat a variety of different foods
• Eat the right amount to be a healthy weight
• Eat plenty of foods rich in starch and fibre
• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
• Don’t eat too many foods that contain a lot of fat
• Don’t have sugary foods and drinks too often
• If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly

You should choose a variety of foods from the four food group categories we have listed below:

1) Bread, other cereals and potatoes
2) Fruit and vegetables
3) Milk and dairy foods
4) Meat, fish and alternatives

Foods which contain fat and sugar, should be eaten sparingly as part of a healthy balanced diet. Fatty and sugary foods should not be eaten instead of foods from the 4 food groups listed above, neither should they be eaten too often or in large amounts. Having a variety of foods in your diet is important for your health