Healthy Eating

It is important to eat well and regularly and to drink plenty of fluids to stay healthy. Eating well helps you stay active and get more out of life. A healthy diet can also improve your physical and mental health. If you are struggling to eat healthily, manage your weight, or make meals for yourself at home, there is support available.

Eating a healthy diet

A healthy, balanced diet contains a variety of foods, including -

plenty of fruit and vegetables
plenty of starchy foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice
some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils
some dairy foods
not too much fat (especially saturated fat), salt and sugar
plenty of water or other fluids (at least 4 pints a day)

There is a number of support organisations that can give you nutritional advice to help you make positive choices about your diet.

My Living Well Bradford

Aims to make the healthy choice the easy choice for people in Bradford District. Lots of people live with long-term health conditions.

For lots of information on eating well visit Living Well's Eating Well page here.

Did you know? If you live in the Bradford district, are aged over 18 and have a BMI of 25 or over you can receive 12 weeks FREE healthy weight support. To find out more about this, visit the my living well manage your weight page here.

Change 4 life

Change 4 Life can give you ideas to help the whole family make healthy lifestyle changes.
They also have various apps available including Smart Recipe and Be Food Smart, along with a whole host of other great ideas for staying healthy.

Visit the Change 4 Life website to find out more (Opens in a new window)

NHS Eat Well

NHS Eat well has ideas to help you eat healthy and maintain balanced diet.

Find out more at NHS - Eat Well (Opens in a new window)

One You Easy Meals

The free One You Easy Meals app is a great way to eat foods that are healthier for you. You will find delicious, easy meal ideas to help get you going if you're ever short of inspiration.

Download the One You Easy Meals app (Opens in a new window)

Eating and conditions, illnesses and ageing

As you age, your digestive and immune systems may become less efficient. It is important to eat well and nutritiously to get the most out of your food. If you have health conditions such as diabetes, arthritis or high blood pressure, your doctor or dietician can help you understand if you need to make changes to what you are eating.

Loss of appetite can be a symptom of some illnesses and mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. If you experience long-term appetite loss, speak to your doctor about it.

Poor appetite

Exercise can help you avoid developing health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and mental health difficulties such as depression. It can also increase your appetite. Small meals or snacks, rather than large meals, could be more helpful if you aren't feeling hungry and your appetite is poor. Exercise will also help improve your appetite.

Weight problems

Adults with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25 are classed as being overweight. You can get your BMI measured by attending a free NHS Health Check which you can discuss with your GP.

Men v Fat

If you need weight loss motivation to win your battle against fat then Man V Fat can help you. They support you for every single pound you need to lose until you win your battle against fat.

Find out more about Man v Fat (Opens in a new window)