Get The Balance Right

We're constantly being told to eat a healthy diet - 'cut cholesterol', 'make sure you eat your five-a-day', 'cut out fat'... the list goes on and on. But what does all this really mean? Contrary to what you might think, a healthy diet doesn't mean surviving on lentils and beans! In fact it’s all about getting the balance right with the following foods.

Mango smoothie Milk foods Bread and carbs Fish and veg

Bread, Cereals and Potatoes

These foods should be eaten at every meal. Foods in this group include bread, breakfast cereals, potatoes, rice, pasta, noodles and grains. Go for high-fibre varieties where possible such as wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread and brown rice.

These foods provide carbohydrates, fibre, B Vitamins and small amounts of calcium and iron. They should roughly fill a third of your plate at meal times.

Fruit and Veg

Eat five different servings every day. Foods in this group include all fruits and vegetables, including fresh, frozen, canned and dried products, and unsweetened fruit juice. These foods provide fibre and a range of vitamins and minerals. They should roughly fill a third of your plate.

Milk and Dairy Foods

Eat two or three servings a day. Foods in this group include milk, cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais. Choose low-fat varieties such as semi-skimmed milk, reduced fat cheese and fat-free yoghurt. These foods contain protein, calcium and a range of vitamins and minerals. They should fill no more than a sixth of your plate at mealtimes.

Meat and fish

Eat two servings a day. Foods in this group include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds. Choose low-fat varieties where possible. These foods provide protein and a range of vitamins and minerals, especially iron.

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Live Life Tips

Try a mango smoothie

  • 100g/3½oz tinned mango slices, drained
  • 3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • handful ice

Method

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Carb-rich foods

They aren't as fattening as you might think - it's what we add to them that pushes up the calorie count, for example, putting butter on bread, frying potatoes or having pasta with a creamy sauce.

Grill meat or fish

Make healthy kebabs with your favourite meat, red/yellow peppers, place onto wooden skewers and grill.

Milk and Dairy Foods

These foods are packed with calcium, great for healthy bones and strong teeth. Research also shows that the calcium found in low-fat dairy products helps the body burn fat, especially from around the midriff.

What to eat when you’re playing sport

Ever played a game of football or been to the gym and wondered why you can barely keep going after half an hour? Pack your body with essential nutrients.

To avoid running out of steam or feeling shaky after a game eat lots of starchy foods such as pasta, rice and potatoes. Bananas, muesli bars, bagels, cereals, rice pudding, yoghurts and dried fruit are high in carbs but low in fat.

During a competition you need to raise your carb levels. According to the Football Association a healthy diet should have 55%-60% carbohydrate.

Avoid dehydration

When you’re physically active you tend to sweat a lot as your body tries to keep itself cool so drink plenty of fluids during any game.
If you’re taking part in a sport where you need to sustain energy over a long period of time, such as football or rugby, the best fluid to drink is a specialised sports drink. Ideally you should drink little and often, if you drink too much too quickly you run the risk of getting a stomach upset.

Jermanie

Live Life Tip

Don't drink ice cold water when you're really hot - it plunges your body temperature; so your body raises its temperature and makes you hot again. Drink water at body temperature.


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Pack The Perfect Picnic!

Picnics are a great summer tradition, so why not go along to Under the Stars on Thursday 30 August-Sunday 2 September and bring your own (healthy) picnic!

A successful picnic

The secret of a successful picnic is simplicity and careful packing. Don't be too ambitious and don't make the mistake of assuming what works at home will work just as well al fresco.

Remember

  • Some delicate foods won’t travel well so pack them in an airtight container
  • Finger food is the most successful
  • Pitta bread saves you cutting loaves of bread
  • Take plenty of cooled water
  • Don't be a litter bug. Take along plastic bags and bin your rubbish!

Be safe

  • You can't always wash your hands in a park so take along disposable wipes
  • Keep food cool with freezer packs
  • Make sure meat and poultry is cooked thoroughly

Your Under The Stars Picnic

  • Wholemeal pitta bread with a variety of fillings including grilled chicken and salad
  • Wholemeal paratha’s with lean mince, spinach or cauliflower
  • Vegetable sticks, including carrots, peppers, celery; cherry tomatoes, baby sweetcorn cobs
  • Pasta with crunchy vegetables such as peppers mixed with low fat mayonnaise
  • Mixed bean salad with beans (try kidney beans and chick peas)
  • Make the most of seasonal fruit and make a fruit salad with mangoes, melon, strawberries with low fat yoghurt.

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Quitting the Big Smoke

When England goes smoke free on July 1 you will not be able to smoke in virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces.

There’s never been a better time to stub it out, but it’s easier said than done isn’t it? If you’re serious about giving up, help is at hand.

*Newham PCT’s Stop Smoking Service run comprehensive and free programmes to help you quit.

The service, managed by over 100 trained advisors, offers:

  • One-to-one advice
  • Group therapy
  • Support in give up smoking during pregnancy
  • Advice on nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products and Zyban
  • Special project in local mosques to help Muslim men stop smoking

Since 2005 almost 5,000 smokers in Newham have been helped by the service. After getting help, almost half of these had not smoked for at least four weeks.

We all know that smoking is bad for you but what will it really mean for your health if you quit today? Raj smokes approximately 10 cigarettes a day.

“Not that bad,” he kids himself. But he’s been smoking for 20 years. If he quit he would feel the benefits within as little as 20 minutes.

Raj
Time The Benefits
20mins Blood pressure and pulse return to normal. Circulation improves, especially to hands and feet.
8hrs The oxygen level in your blood increases to a normal level. Chances of a heart attack start to fall.
24hrs Carbon monoxide leaves the body. The lungs start to clear out all the mucus and other debris.
48hrs Nicotine is no longer found in the body. Sense of smell and taste improve.
72hrs Breathing becomes easier. Energy levels increase.
2-12wks Circulation improves throughout the body. Walking and exercise become easier.
3-9mths Breathing problems, coughing, shortness of breath and wheezing improve.
Lung efficiency increased by 5-10%.
5yrs Risk of having a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.
10yrs Risk of lung cancer falls to around half that of a smoker. Risk of heart attack falls to about the same of a never smoker

It’s a fact

  • 1 in 4 deaths in Newham each year are smoking related
  • 330 people die each year in Newham due to smoking related diseases
  • Smoking costs Newham’s NHS around £3.6 million each year
  • A 20 a day Newham smoker will spend approx £1800 a year on cigarettes
  • Chewing tobacco makes you five times more likely to get oral cancer

Think about what you’re taking in

  • Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas linked with heart disease, stroke and other circulation problems.
  • Tar is deposited in the lungs with every breath of cigarette smoke taken. Tar causes cancer and damages your lungs.
  • Benzene is a solvent and is a known cause of cancer and is associated with leukaemia.
  • Formaldehyde is a poison used to preserve dead bodies. It is known to cause cancer, respiratory, skin and gastrointestinal problems.
  • Ammonia is used in cigarettes - it is also found in cleaning fluids.
  • Cadmium is a poisonous metal, used in batteries. It causes liver, kidney and brain damage.

Quit Now

Newham Stop Smoking services 0800 0131 673

*Advice and support is FREE, nicotine replacement therapy is free if you are entitled to free prescriptions, otherwise a prescription charge applies.

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Diabetes

African-Caribbean or South Asian people who live in the UK are at least five times more likely to have diabetes than the white population.

What is diabetes?

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps the body use glucose (sugar). Diabetes occurs when the amount of sugar in the blood is too high because our bodies cannot use it properly.

There are two main types of diabetes:
Type 1 – this develops if the body is unable to produce any insulin and normally appears before the age of 40
Type 2 - usually develops when the body cannot make enough insulin or the insulin produced doesn’t work properly

Signs of diabetes

Weight loss, extreme tiredness, increased thirst, going to the loo (for a wee) all the time – especially at night - blurred vision, genital itching, slow healing of wounds.

You’re at more risk of diabetes if:

  • A close member of your family has Type 2 diabetes (parent, brother or sister)
  • You have high blood pressure or you’ve had a heart attack or a stroke
  • You’re overweight or if your waist is 31.5 inches or over for women; 35 inches or over for Asian men and 37 inches or over for white and black men
  • You’re a woman with polycystic ovary syndrome and you are overweight
  • You’ve been told you have impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glycaemia
  • If you’re a woman and you’ve had gestational diabetes
  • You have severe mental health problems

Where to get help

Newham Diabetes UK meets on the last Wednesday of every month at Stratford Advice Arcade between 7pm and 8.30pm or on the last Thursday of every month between 1.30pm and 3.30pm at the Hartley Centre, Barking Road, East Ham.

For more information call Clare Mehmet on 07949 183 210.

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