Resources > Healthy Body
Healthy eating
It is important to eat healthily as it helps you to:
- Keep your energy levels up
- Sleep better
- Look after your immune system
- Reduce your risk of health conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart conditions and many cancers
- Have strong bones and joints
- Have good mental health
- Manage any long-term health conditions you may be living with
Top tips for eating a healthy diet
Busy lifestyles, food and drink adverts, how much money we have, where we live, our culture, friends and family, and all sorts of other factors influence what we eat.
Finding the right balance between how much, how often, what we eat and enjoying our food is important.
Here are some top tips to have a healthy diet:
- Eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day – eat as many different types of fruit and vegetables as possible to maximise your intake of vitamins and fibre. Beans, pulses and frozen fruit and vegetables can be a cheaper way to get these into your diet. Find a market near you to buy cheaper fruit and veg.
- Check the labels – if the label has traffic lights: green is low (healthy), red is high (unhealthy). Try to eat foods low in salt, sugar and saturated fats.
- Cut down on processed and red meats – these meats have been shown to increase the risk of cancer.
- Choose beans, nuts, fish, eggs and lean cuts of meat (like chicken breast) are great sources of protein.
- Choose wholegrain pasta, rice and brown bread. These are less refined, complex carbohydrates, will fill you up and regulate sugar intake.
- Avoid ultra-processed foods – Avoid food made with lots of ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen.
- Stay hydrated – Aim to drink 6-8 glasses or cups of fluid a day. Water, milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count.
Healthy recipes
You can use helpful free AI tools, like the Mealia website, to generate a healthy, affordable meal plan for your family.
You can also visit Eat like a Londoner's website for affordable and sustainable recipes and advice.
Get support to manage your weight, change the way you eat & get active
- Live Healthier Havering weight management programme - free support programme to lose weight.
- Learning disability healthy lifestyle programme - free support programme for people with learning disabilities to lose weight.
- Speak to a Health & Wellbeing Coach or Nutritionist at your GP practice.
- Havering Exercise Referral Scheme for adults with long-term health conditions.
- Find local groups and classes where you get can get active.
- Download the free NHS Weight Loss Plan app
- Visit our Diabetes page for support preventing and managing type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- Go to a free live webinar run by SA Nutrition.
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