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Carbohydrates
There are 2 main groups of carbohydrates:
Starch
Starchy foods include breads, potatoes(especially if you eat the skin), rice, cereals and pasta. Starchy foods give us energy and are not high in calories as long as you avoid adding extra fat or sugar to them. For example adding butter to a baked potato, sugar to cereals, or cooking them in fat (e.g.chips).
Sugar
Sugar is not essential in our diet. It just provides us with calories and contains no other nutrients. Too much sugar can rot teeth and lead to excess weight. Cutting sugar out of your diet is one of the easiest ways to cut down calories without losing any nutrients. Try choosing low calorie drinks, cutting sugar out of tea and coffee and avoid eating cakes and sweets.
Fats
A small amount of fat is essential in our diets as it gives us energy but the majority of us eat far too much and should try to cut down.
There are 2 main types of fat.
1. Unsaturated fats (which includes polyunsaturated and monosaturated fats)- In moderation these can help lower cholesterol and help maintain a healthy heart. Good sources of these fats are found in vegetable oils like sunflower, soya or corn, oily fish like mackerel, sardines and pilchards, olive oils, margarines (labelled high in polyunsaturates)and avocado pears.
2. Saturated fats - A diet high in these types of fat will increase your cholesterol levels and also increase the risk of heart disease. These fats are found in high quantities in meat, dairy products like full-fat milk, cheese, and butter, pies, cakes, chocolate and biscuits.
As well as cutting down on fat intake you should try to eat foods containing unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats. You can cut down on your fat intake by reducing the amount of butter and margarine that you use and by avoiding biscuits, cakes and sweets. Try not to fry food, instead bake, grill, poach or microwave. Cut any visible fats off meats before cooking, and remove the skin from chicken and other poultry before cooking.
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