Why stay healthy?
Staying healthy physically can help you stay healthy emotionally too. If you are eating the right food and keeping fit, your body will be strong and help you cope with stress and fight illness. Eating well and exercising often helps you stay in good health later on in life. Getting regular sleep is another really important way to stay healthy. Having late nights can leave you feeling tired the next day. It can be difficult if you are busy but do try to have at least 8 hours sleep each night.
Balanced Diet:
It can be hard to keep a healthy diet. Especially when there’s temptation to eat sweets and junk food. But it’s important to get a balance in your diet for the right amount of each food group. A balanced diet also includes drinks. Your body needs to stay hydrated so think about what you drink. Caffeine and sugary drinks:
- Affect your energy levels, feeling full of energy before a “sugar low” where you may feel tired and grumpy.
- Can make you put on weight if you have too much sugar.
- Can cause trouble sleeping if you have them at night.
- It’s best to drink water and natural juices which don’t have lots of sugar
One portion of food should include:
- Carbohydrates – like potatoes, pasta, rice and bread. A portion should be about the size of a fist.
- Protein (from non-diary sources) – like meat, fish, beans, soya and tofu. A portion should be about the size of a deck of cards.
- Dairy – like milk and cheese. A portion should be about 200ml of milk, a matchbox size piece of cheese or an average pot (125ml) of yoghurt.
- Fruit and vegetables – at least five portions per day. For fresh fruit and vegetables, a portion should be about a cupped hand. For dried fruit, a portion should be about half a cupped hand.
Junk food and sweets:
A balanced diet is called that for a reason, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have any junk food. After all that fruit and veg, you can have some snacks.
5-a-day:
As you already know, we need to have 5 portions of fruits a day. Some fruit juices will have a sign on them which says 1 of your 5 a day which means they are 1 of the 5 fruits you have to eat. Keep a look out for this sign.
Exercise:
As well as healthy eating, exercise is just as important. Exercising for at least 30 minutes a day is good, with breaks in between. Exercise helps people keep a healthy weight and lower the risk of some diseases. Exercising regularly decreases a person’s risk of developing certain health conditions and diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Exercise can help a person age well. This may not seem important now, but it will help you later on in life.
By: Qudsia Khabir
