Good health means soundness of body and mind, freedom from disease or ailment. It’s what we all want – that great feeling of vigour, happiness and optimism that makes you glad to be alive.
Throughout history people have sought good health, though advice on how to find it hasn’t been constant. There were times when it was thought that all you needed to keep well was to worship the right gods and wear a few charms to ward off evil spirits.
These days health authorities and the advertising industry bombard us with advice on what to do (and even more about what not to do) to be healthy. It’s largely a matter of common sense: eat well; get enough exercise and rest; avoid known health risks; be happy. Sounds easy, and in fact for most people it is.
We all know we must eat well to keep healthy. A good diet during puberty is especially important to provide for that growth spurt and give you energy. At any age, if you’re well nourished you’re less likely to catch infections. We hear and read so much about nutrition, healthy eating and weight control that it would be surprising if anyone hadn’t got the message about the diet that’s now believed to be best for health.
Dietary advice has changed over the past few decades. In my youth we were told that good health was the reward for eating your greens, lots of meats and dairy foods, ‘an apple a day’, and a regular dose of cod-liver oil or something like it. Filling up on cereals, bread and potatoes was believed to be ‘bad’ nutrition.
Today cereals, bread and potatoes are back in favour, fibre (in most plant foods) is ‘in’, and we are warned against eating too much fat, sugar and salt and animal protein.
Adults worry that many teenagers don’t seem to have much regard for proper nutrition. They often skip meals; they’re always snacking; they love junk food’; many seem to exist on soft drinks, potato chips, hamburgers and chocolate. What’s more, most of them seem to survive quite well, which baffles the nutrition educators!
I think the truth is that adults – parents in particular – note and remember the ‘bad’ foods that their kids eat, but they tend not to remember the ‘good’ foods also eaten and that all foods have some nutritional value, even if it’s only a quick carbohydrate ‘fix’ that teenagers seem to crave to satisfy their huge energy needs.
The main worry about snack foods is that though they provide energy they often don’t provide enough other essential nutrients, and even when they do they are often too high in sugar, fat and salt.
• Hamburgers and take-away chicken or fish contain useful protein but often have too much fat and salt. A plain hamburger, skinless chicken or grilled fish are healthy choices.
• Chips contain fibre and good complex carboyhydrate, but too much fat and salt. A jacket-baked spud (now sold at many fast-food shops) is nutritionally better if you go easy on the sour cream.
• Soft drinks are made of flavouring, sugar (nine teaspoons in a 375-ml can!) and wafer. They provide energy but no other nutrients.
It’s true that many teenagers develop I eating habits that can have some bad effects on health and lead to problems with weight control. Some of the health risks of unhealthy eating include the following.
•Tooth decay can result from too much sugar (confectionery, biscuits, cakes).
• If you eat no fruit, vegetables or whole-grain cereals you’re likely to be constipated. The high- fibre content of these plant foods also helps with weight control, and is believed to help prevent
bowel cancer and some other chronic bowel problems of later life.
•You need plenty of calcium for growing bones. It’s now thought that girls whose bones store adequate calcium during teenage growth are at less risk of developing brittle bones in later life. Dairy foods are the best source of calcium. If you’re worried about weight gain, fat-reduced milk products are available.
• Girls lose iron during menstruation. If there’s not enough iron in your diet, you’re at risk of becoming anaemic. Meat and green vegetables are good sources of iron.
• If you continue to have too much fat in your diet, it could put you at risk of heart and blood-vessel disease when you’re older.
• If you skip or skimp on breakfast you’ll be less able to think clearly and concentrate during the morning.
• Skipping meals won’t help with weight control. You’ll just get hungrier and snack on fattening foods or eat more at the next meal.
There’s such an abundance of top-quality food available in Australia that no one need be badly nourished. Good food doesn’t have to be expensive. Fresh food is generally cheaper than processed food. What’s more, a balanced diet generally provides all the vitamins and minerals a healthy person needs, so there’s no need to spend money on dietary supplements.
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