Reduce your risk - Keep a healthy weight
What we eat and drink can affect our health in lots of different ways. Being overweight increases your risk of developing cancer. There are 13 different types of cancer linked to being overweight: brain, thyroid, oesophagus, breast, liver, upper stomach, gallbladder, pancreas, kidney, bowel, myeloma (blood cancer), ovarian, and womb. It also increases your risk of developing long term conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
You don’t have to cut your favourite foods out of your diet completely, just make sure you’re not eating them every day. Why not see if there are healthy swaps you can make too, like tortilla pizzas. The same goes for your snacks too. And make sure you know what a ‘portion’ looks like for your chosen snack. Portion sizes can vary a lot depending on the food, so make sure you’re not eating too much. Change4Life’s guide to snacks snacks which are just 100 calories is a great place to start if you’re looking to wean yourself off chocolate bars.
Always check the labels – foods which advertise themselves as a healthy choice can be misleading. A meal which is low in fat but high in salt still isn’t good for you.
Get creative with your cooking – eating well doesn’t have to mean boring foods. We know there’s nothing worse than a ‘healthy’ meal which turns out to be taste-free as well as fat-free! There are lots of different meals from around the world which taste amazing and are good for you too. A Mediterranean diet is known for being healthy and helping to reduce the risk of developing some health conditions. Japanese cuisine is also seen as super healthy. Expand your horizons when you’re looking for something new to make!
Why not go retro and make yourself a recipe book? Print out recipes from foodie websites and blogs, or cut them out of magazines. Then you’ll always have an answer to the age-old question ‘what’s for tea?’ (and you’ll be less likely to resort to a takeaway).
Whether it’s fish and chips or tikka masala, we know that sometimes it feels like only a takeaway will do. You’re not alone in feeling like that. Luckily, there are loads of recipes out there for ‘fakeaways’ – versions of your fave takeaway dishes you can make at home. So you can still have whatever you’re craving, but with the added bonus of knowing you’re making a healthier choice. Check out BBC Good Food to get started!
