Читать книгу Love... Sewing - Pippa Cuthbert - Страница 5

Introduction

A well-balanced diet will keep you and your whole family healthy. Those who eat a healthy, varied diet are more likely to be full of energy, suffer fewer illnesses and children will be more attentive at school. Children grow rapidly between the ages of five and 12, gaining an average of 5–7.5 cm (2–3 in) in height each year. To support this rapid growth and development, they need a good supply of nutrients, especially protein, calcium and iron. It’s not just the body that needs good nourishment, though. Many nutrients, especially the B vitamins and iron, are important for concentration and learning at work or school, and our brains needs a constant supply of glucose and oxygen. Teenagers have higher nutritional needs than any other group, yet often have the poorest diet, choosing the easy option of processed and fast foods. Encouraging good food habits from an early age could have a significant effect on health throughout adolescence and throughout life, and could help protect against problems such as osteoporosis, heart disease and some cancers.

The recipes in this book are about striking a balance between healthy eating and food that the whole family will enjoy. Eating well shouldn’t mean boring meals or denying favourite foods, but rather providing a diet that is healthy and varied, as well as delicious.

So much has been written in the past decade about what we shouldn’t eat that most of us are well aware that too many sugary, fatty, or overprocessed foods should be avoided. But healthy eating is not about deprivation; the secret lies in serving more foods that will promote wellbeing and that everyone will enjoy.