Why Eat Fresh Produce?
Eating more fresh produce can help us towards a more balanced diet and provide the vitamins and minerals that our body needs.
Five good reasons to eat more fruit & vegetables:
- Fruit and vegetables taste delicious and there's a wide variety to choose from.
- They're a good source of vitamins and minerals.
- They're an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion problems.
- A diet high in fibre can also reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
- They can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
Western diets tend to include too much fat, sugar and salt and not enough fruit, vegetables and fibre. To help you get the right balance of the five main food groups, take a look at the Eatwell Plate here: Eatwell plate
The principles behind healthy eating are very simple
A diet based on starchy foods such as rice and pasta, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish and lentils, and some milk and dairy foods (and not too much fat, salt or sugar) will give you all the nutrients that you need.
When it comes to a healthy diet, balance is the key to getting it right. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions.
The Five Food groups
All the food we eat can be divided into five groups. For a healthy diet you need to eat the right balance of foods from these groups.
The five food groups are:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Starchy foods - such as rice, pasta, bread and potatoes
- Meat, fish, eggs and beans
- Milk and dairy foods
- Foods containing fat and sugar
Focus on Bananas
Brimming with vitamins and minerals and crammed full of natural carbohydrates and fibre, a banana is one of nature's little miracles.
- For Pregnant Women and Breastfeeding Mums
At these times the body needs more energy and essential nutrients than usual and an easily digestible banana can provide this.
Although most babies won’t need solid food before the age of 4 months, a mixed diet should be offered by the age of 6 months. Ripe bananas, which contain easily digestible sugars and a high proportion of a baby’s essential minerals and vitamins, make a perfect weaning food.
Toddlers cope best with small, regular meals. Bananas are easy for them to eat and the habits established now can set the pattern for later life. Low in fat and salt, a banana can satisfy a child’s desire for something sweet in a sensible way.
Before school, at lunch time, or at the breaks in-between, a banana provides a nutritious satisfying meal. The minerals and vitamins are especially beneficial during this growing stage.
With its high carbohydrate and potassium content, together with the essential vitamins and minerals it contains, the banana points the way to good health for us all.
Being less active, energy requirements decrease but the demand for protein, vitamins and minerals remains. This is where the banana - easy to eat and to digest - is particularly helpful.
Diabetes - a banana makes a convenient between-meal snack, ideal because of its high carbohydrate, low fat content. A ripe banana has a GI factor of 55 (medium level) and when under-ripe, 30 (low).
Low Cholesterol - bananas are excellent for their low fat, high energy content.
Colouring & Additive Free - sweet tasting, nutritious and totally natural.
Weight Loss - rich in nutrients and high in carbohydrate to fill you up - and a banana is just 95 calories too!