Healthy eating

I could write several books on healthy eating (well, someone could) so I won’t get carried away here. But there are one or two things you might want a quick guide to.

Portion sizes

We’re always being told to eat five portions of fruit or vegetables a day, but how much is a portion? Here’s a quick guide to what constitutes a portion of the most common foods. Incidentally this is largely taken from Sally Child and Karen Bali’s book 5-a-day For Kids Made Easy (White Ladder Press £9.99), which also lists portion sizes for children at different ages.

VEGETABLES
Aubergine	¹/₂
Baby beetroot	4
Baby sweetcorn cobs	5–6
Beansprouts	2 handfuls
Broccoli	4 florets
Brussels sprouts	8
Carrots, cooked	3 tblspns
Cauliflower	4 florets
Celery	1–2 sticks
Cherry tomatoes	5
Cooked veg eg beans	3–4 tblspns
Courgette	¹/₂ large
Cucumber	6 slices
Grated carrot	3 tblspns
Leafy green veg, cooked	3 tblspns
Mushrooms	3–4 tblspns
Parsnip	1 large
Peas	3 tblspns
Pepper, fresh	¹/₂–1
Pulses, cooked	1 cup
Salad, mixed	1 cereal bowl
Sliced mushrooms	3 tblspns
Sweetcorn kernels	3 tblspns
Tomato	1 large

FRUIT
Apple	1 large
Apricots, dried	5–6
Avocado	¹/₂ lge/1 small
Banana	1 large
Blackberries	4 tblspns
Blackcurrants	4 tblspns
Cherries	10
Fruit juice	4 fl oz/100ml
Fruit salad, fresh	dessert bowl
Grapefruit	¹/₂
Grapes	15
Kiwi fruit	2
Mango	¹/₂
Melon	4oz/100g
Orange	1 large
Peach/nectarine	1
Pear	1 large
Pineapple, fresh	1 large slice
Plum	2–3
Raisins/sultanas	handful
Raspberries	4 tblspns
Rhubarb, cooked	2 tblspns
Satsuma/clementine	2
Strawberries	6–8
Tinned fruit	1 small tin

Although standard advice is to eat ‘five a day’, for optimum health you should actually aim for eight portions a day.

Vitamins and minerals

If you’re trying to increase your intake of zinc, or give your children more vitamin C, it can be handy to have a guide to the best sources of the most important vitamins and minerals. Obviously I’m not listing obscure or minor sources; this is just for quick reference.

Rule of thumb

Healthy women need around 2,000 kcals (calories) intake a day, and healthy men around 2,500 kcals.

VITAMINS
Vitamin	Good for	Best sources
A (retinol)	Eyes, skin	Liver, fish oils, carrots, green leaf vegetables, milk products, egg yolks
B1 (thiamine)	Heart, nervous system, digestion	Liver, yeast, whole-grains, rice, peanuts, digestion milk
B2 (riboflavin)	Skin, nails, hair, digestion	Liver, fish, yeast, milk, cheese, green leaf vegetables
B6	Skin, nervous system, digestion	Pork, chicken, fish, bananas, sholegrains, dried pulses
B12	Blood	Liver, meat, fish, milk, cheese
C (ascorbic acid)	Immune system, lowering cholesterol, healing wounds	Citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, green vegetables, potatoes
D	Bones and teeth	Oily fish, milk and milk products, natural sunlight
E	Protecting against toxins	Green vegetables, wholegrains, eggs, nuts, soya beans
Folic acid	Blood, pregnancy	Liver, yeast, whole wheat, leafy green vegetables, carrots, beans, avocado, apricots, melon, egg yolks

MINERALS
Mineral	Good for	Best sources
Calcium	Bones, teeth, immune system	Milk and dairy products, lean meat, nuts, leafy green vegetables, pulses, oily fish, wholegrains
Iron	Blood and muscles	Lean red meat, offal, oily fish, green vegetables, garlic, figs, apricots, eggs, wholewheat bread
Magnesium	Blood pressure, digestion, bones, teeth and muscles	Bananas, apricots, figs, prunes, raisins, lean meat, brown rice, whole wheat, green leafy vegetables, pulses, milk and yoghurt
Potassium	Fluid balance, heart, muscles.	Most foods other than fats and sugars but can be destroyed by overcooking
Selenium	Liver	Nuts, cheese, watercress
Zinc	Immune system, skin, libido	Shellfish, lean meat and poultry, cheese, brown rice, wholegrains.

It can be difficult for the body to absorb iron, but vitamin C helps the process so take both together. For example have a glass of orange juice with your meal.

Rule of thumb

The recommendation is that you drink 1¹/₂–2 litres of liquids a day, preferably water. Sadly alcohol and caffeine drinks don’t count at all.