10 Steps to a Healthier You

Diet can have a significant impact on your health. Many people in Ireland need to make changes to their eating patterns to increase their chances of living a full and healthy life.

Making changes to improve the quality of your diet (and consequently your health) is simpler than you might think.

1. Achieve and maintain a healthy weight for your height

57% of Irish adults are estimated to be either overweight or obese. This has significant negative effects on a person’s health in the short and long term. Increasing daily exercise, and reducing portion sizes and high fat and sugar can address this balance.

2. Be physically active every day

Being physically active every day is one of the best things that you can do for your health. Physically active people are healthier than those who aren’t. Remember, the idea is not to go from no exercise to loads of exercise overnight, but to build up slowly. A small change that you can sustain is more important than a big change that you only do for a week. Do a small amount more than you normally would and keep this up for a week or two before increasing a bit again. Aim for 30 minutes of activity most days of the week. Simple decisions everyday can affect your health in a positive way. Make the effort to take the stairs rather than the lift or escalator or walk to the local shop rather than driving.

3. Increase your intake of fruit and vegetables

A daily intake of 5 portions of fruit and vegetables has been shown to have many advantages. Not only are fruit and vegetables low in calories, high in fibre and a great source of many vitamins and minerals, they also contain ‘phytochemicals’ – naturally occurring plane chemicals which have been shown to have many disease fighting properties.

4. Choose wholegrains

75% of Irish adults do not eat the recommended amount of fibre. By choosing wholemeal, wholegrain or wholewheat options you can significantly increase the amount of fibre you are eating in the day. A higher fibre intake improves your bowel function and reduces your chances of having problems such as constipation and piles.

5. Lower your fat intake

Many people in Ireland eat too much fat in their diet. This contributes to overweight and obesity as well as heart disease. Try to make an effort to reduce your intake of some of the high-fat foods such as oils, butter and spreads, cream and high fat snacks such as biscuits, cakes, chocolate and crisps.

Simple things like trimming the fat off meat, and choosing low fat cooking methods such as grilling, steaming and microwaving instead of frying can make a big difference in the long run. Chose boiled potatoes or mash instead of roast potatoes and chips.

6. Eat oily fish at least once a week

The fat found in oily fish has been shown to have a great effect on your bolod and has a role in preventing heart disease and inflammation. Such fish include sardines, mackerel, herring, trout and salmon, whether they are tinned, smoked or fresh.

7. Reduce your use of salt and salty foods

In Ireland we eat much more salt than we should. The average intake is 9g where we should be aiming to reduce this to 6g a day. Salt in our diet doesn’t just come from the salt we add in cooking and at the table, but is also in many of the foods that we eat. By reducing our intake of tinned and processed foods and take-away foods we can significantly reduce the amount of salt we eat. A high intake of salt can contribute to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease.

8. Eat a varied diet, try something new!

The more varied your diet is, the more likely you are to be getting all the nutrients you need. People who follow restricted diets often miss out on essential nutrients. When you go shopping try something new, experiment with recipes and explore new ingredients.

9. Don’t drink to excess and cut out smoking!

The upper safe limit of alcohol intake is 14 units a week for women and 21 units a week for men. A unit of alcohol is:

One half pint of beer, stout or lager
One small glass of wine
One glass of spirits

36% of men and 20% of women in Ireland drink more than this.

Alcohol is high in calories for those trying to lose weight and also actually stimulates your appetite. In excess it can also increase some of the fat levels in your blood as well as cause damage to your liver. You should certainly try to have a few non-alcohol days in the week and then try to not have more than 2-3 units at any one time.

Over 40% of Irish adults ages 18-35 years smoke. Many cite possible weight gain as a reason for not quitting. 23% of men and 16% of women who died in 1998 died from a smoking related disease.

10. Eat breakfast!

Breakfast gets its name from the fact that it is the longest time that most of us are fasting in the day.

After 8-10 hours without food, it is the most important meal of the day. People who eat breakfast have been shown to have better problem solving abilities and concentration than those who do not. They are also less likely to be overweight or obese. Toast or cereal is a good way to start the day with some fruit or fruit juice. Rather than going for a ‘full irish’ of fried foods try a combination of grilled bacon or sausages with poached or boiled eggs and grilled mushroom or tomato and beans with wholemeal toast.