Promoting Healthy Food Habit

Many food habits are formed during youth and closely linked to the natural environment in which people live. In other words, the child learns food habits in the environment in which he is brought up, from parents, siblings and other children in the home and the school. The food habits we form as children can affect our health for the rest of our lives. For this reason, parents should encourage positive food habits for each family member.

It is our responsibility as parents, teachers, nutritionists and society as a whole to encourage healthy eating habits among kids. There are several important things we can do to encourage healthy eating habits in children.

• Be a role model - First of all, parents act as role models, modeling food choices and eating habits. Children watch what you are eating, so to be a good role model for them, try to give up some of the junk food you are used to having in your pantry such as packets of biscuits or bags of crisps.
• Regular family meals - Eating regular family meals helps the parents to catch up with their children and to figure out what children are actually eating.
• Eat breakfast - Make sure you and your children start the day right with a well-balanced meal.
• Provide healthy snacks - Snacks are an important part of your child's daily food intake. There are many healthy snack alternatives these days, so finding one that is both nutritious and tasty should not be a problem. Keep plenty of fruits and raw vegetables, yoghurt, celery, and crackers on hand.
  

Healthy eating for pregnancy

For all pregnant women, you should understand that what you eat during pregnancy can also profoundly affect the health of your baby when that baby becomes an adult--for better or for worse. In other words, by eating the right kinds of foods and gaining weight in pregnancy you can make a significant difference in your babies' health and well-being. For this reason, healthy eating patterns should be established before pregnancy.

Inadequate nutritional intake is associated with preterm birth, low birthweight, and congenital anomalies. Pregnant women should avoid too many high-fat or high-sugar foods and should focus on obtaining adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and low-fat dairy sources. For prevention of iron deficiency anemia and protection of maternal iron stores in pregnant women, supplementation with 30 mg of elemental iron per day is recommended for all women during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Food Safety Storage Tips

All food must be stored properly to prevent contamination and keep food safe for eating. Foods maintain their quality, safety, and nutrients when they're stored properly and used within a certain time.

Most foods store best at refrigeration temperatures when the relative humidity of air is between about 80% and 95%. Each part of a refrigerator has a different temperature and humidity factor. Refrigerate meat in the coldest part of the refrigerator as soon as possible after purchase. Refrigerated fruits and vegetables should be kept in bags or containers, to minimize the chance of cross contamination between other foods and surfaces.

If cooked food is not intended to be eaten straight away, it must be cooled quickly and refrigerated or frozen to reduce the chances of recontamination or germination of spores. It is important to store cooked food in a separate cabinet or storage facility to raw food. Refreezing of food is generally not to be recommended as it will invariably cause a reduction in the quality of the product while the risk of contamination increases with the length of time stored unfrozen.

Food Safety Guide

Sometimes even healthy foods ca make you sick. It is a known fact that millions of people each year are affected by eating contaminated foods. Food handling and preparation procedures determine whether or not the final diet is safe for consumption. Kitchen cleanliness and personal hygiene are important when food is being prepared, cooked and served.

There are several kinds of rules addressing the handling of food. Before you prepare a meal, it is important that you know how to handle food so that you and those who eat your food stay safe. Wash hands thoroughly with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before beginning food preparation and every time you handle raw foods, including fresh produce. Nearly half of all cases of food-borne illness could be eliminated by proper hand washing. It is also important to wash knives, utensils and counter tops in hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next one.

Unhealthy eating

Today, unhealthy eating habits continue to be a big problem in our society. Unhealthy eating behavior takes many forms, ranging from not eating enough to eating too much too quickly. There are several key reasons why people develop unhealthy eating habits. Placing too much emotional importance on food or having a negative body image can lead to unhealthy eating behaviors.

Large numbers of American adults have unhealthy eating patterns. And unhealthy eating habits are prevalent among female adolescents. Unhealthy eating habits can lead to illness and disease.

Learning About Calories

The body requires a certain number of calories to run normal body functions. The foods you eat contain calories that your body uses for energy. The more calories you eat, the more energy your body will be able to call on. A calories measures how much energy a food gives the body. Calories from food that are not used right away are stored either as glycogen, a complex carbohydrate that is found in liver and muscle, or as triglyceride, a fat that is found in adipose tissue located on the body.

Calories needs vary from person to person. The amount of calories your body needs depends on your age, weight, height, health, and activity level. To maintain a healthy weight, it is important to balance the calories in the food you eat with the calories used by the body every day. In most cases the cause of obesity is a combination of a calorie surplus and an inactive lifestyle. Too many calories and you will gain weight. On the other hand, taking in fewer calories than your body needs can result in weight loss. But an extremely low calorie diet will not cause harm to your body.

A balanced diet for a balanced body

The body requires a certain amount of energy each day to function properly and this energy comes from food. What you usually eat and drink, day after day, is your diet. A diet that has the right amounts of all the nutrients is called a balanced diet. Nutritional requirements vary according to age, sex, physical activities and other physiological conditions.

Maintaining a well-balanced diet is one of the cornerstones of healthy living. A balanced diet is one which is varied and contains enough proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals to keep the body in perfect health regularly and also helps to tide over lean times. This balanced diet provides energy to our body in turn provides us the power for our routine work. If you ate only sweets, or cream buns, or crisps you would stay alive for a time. But you would not stay healthy, because you are not eating a balanced diet.