relationships education & training housing & shelter health & emotions money jobs get active rights help

Sex Emergency Health Young People's Health Clinics Pregnancy All Mixed Up Drugs & Alcohol Healthy Living Healthy Living Healthy living can be challenging, but making some simple changes can make a world of difference to your health! Healthy living includes:   healthy eating   physical activity   smoking   sexual health (see sex)   drugs and alcohol (see drugs and alchohol)   healthy mind (see keeping a healthy mind) This section covers the first three topics. The others are in separate sections of their own. The Surgery www.bbc.co.uk/surgery includes pages of information about healthy living and other health topics. Healthy eating For a healthier diet most people need to be eating:   plenty of fruit and vegetables. Aim for five portions of fruit and vegetables every day (a heaped handful is a simple guide to one portion)   plenty of starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes   some protein-based foods such as meat, fish, eggs or pulses   less salt, fat and sugar. Check food labels for the amounts. For example, per 100g - 20g fat is a lot, 10g of sugar is a lot. The way you cook food also has an impact. Try healthier methods such as:   grilling (instead of frying)   steaming (instead of boiling)   stir-frying (with a little oil) It’s also very important to enjoy what you eat. Eating a wide variety helps as this way you’re more likely to stick to the changes you make to your food and health. Also make sure that what you eat boosts your energy. A healthy balanced diet will do this! 5 a day www.5aday.nhs.uk - NHS site with loads of information on the benefits of eating healthily (includes recipes). Food Standards Agency www.eatwell.gov.uk - information and advice on helping you make healthier choices. Physical activity Just as good food and health go hand-in-hand, you also need to combine all this with more physical activity to improve your overall health. Getting active on a regular basis is the way to stay healthy (it is recommended you exercise five days a week for 30 minutes). If you haven't been active for a while then start off gently and build up. Don't feel you have to do something extreme - it's better to do something than nothing at all. Just getting out for a walk is a great start. Being more active has many benefits. It can:   reduce your risk of getting ill   help you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight   provide energy and confidence   be a great laugh (especially if you're with your mates) Check out the Get Active section for suggestions and contacts. Smoking Smokers are at greater risk from illness and early death than non-smokers. Even breathing the smoke from other people's cigarettes, or passive smoking, can affect your health. Smoking can also affect you:   looking good - smoking leads to your skin wrinkling and your teeth and fingers becoming stained yellow-brown   having money - smoking 20 cigarettes a day costs £1,500 a year   playing sport and being active - a 20 year old smoker has the same fitness levels as a 35 year old non-smoker   kissing - smoking causes your breath, hair and clothes to smell like an ashtray   having sex - smoking is the leading cause of male impotence (it reduces the blood flow needed for an erect penis) and reduced fertility in men Smoking also damages the environment, To make cigarettes, around 600 million trees are destroyed a year! Want to quit? If you smoke, giving up is probably the greatest single step you can take to improve your health. Seven out of ten smokers say that they want to stop, but most believe they can't. They're wrong. In the last 15 years, 11 million people in the UK have successfully kicked the habit. Local NHS Stop Smoking Services: Mendip 01749 836525 Taunton 01823 323808 South Somerset 01460 238671 Somerset Coast (Sedgemoor and West Somerset) 01278 432032 Go Smokefree http://gosmokefree.nhs.uk - advice, information and support from the NHS. Helpline: 0800 169 0 169 Quitline www.quit.org.uk - support, help and advice on quitting smoking. Helpline: 0800 00 22 00 Return to top of page Healthy eating, Physical activity, Smoking Make text larger Make text smaller Text Only Display Disclaimer