East Coast FM's Top Tips
Healthy Living in association with Kelkin

·         Keep hydrated! Every process in our body occurs in a water medium. Aside from aiding in digestion and absorption of food, water regulates body temperature and blood circulation, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, and removes toxins and other wastes. It’s also calorie free! Aim to drink 1.5-2L of fluid daily

·         Make sure your diet is full of colour with lots of fruit and vegetables. Ensure there is some colour at every meal; fruit or juice with your breakfast, salad or vegetable soups at lunchtime and fill half your plate with vegetables at your evening meal. Fruits and vegetables are naturally low fat and filled with important immune boosting vitamins to keep flu and colds at bay.

·         Chose fibre rich foods. Fibre clings to the more harmful products of digestion and helps to eliminate them from the body. Fibre rich foods help you feel fuller for longer but most importantly a high fibre diet reduces the risk of colon cancer and heart disease. Chose high fibre breakfast cereals such as no added sugar muesli and go for brown bread.

·         Get Active! 41% of us who are inactive say that we have ‘no time’ to exercise. Well it’s time to make time! Exercise will not only help you burn off those extra calories it will help boost your mood and also protects against muscle and bone loss. We should all aim for about 4 hours of activity per week.

·         Make sure you diet is rich in all of the B vitamins…B vitamins help us metabolise food and are essential to mental and emotional well-being. Oats, bananas, dairy and green vegetables are great sources of B vitamins.

·         Reduce your salt intake…The average daily intake of salt in Ireland is 10g per day. We need to reduce this figure to 6g or less per day (1 tsp). Hide the salt shaker and reduce your intake of processed foods. Try experimenting with different herbs and spices instead of adding salt. Spices can have specific health benefits e.g. tumeric can relieve indigestion, ginger and fennel are great for digestion and nausea. Using flavouring like bay leaves, dill and parsley will provide some vitamins and minerals making your meal more nutritious while providing tasty flavours. Popcorn kernels are a great snack as long as you don't over do it on the salt. 

·         Reduce you alcohol intake… In small amounts alcohol can help you relax but it in larger amounts it may increase stress as it disrupts sleep. It is a good idea to have 3-4 alcohol free days per week and never more than 2-3 units in a night.

·         Try to include some plant forms of proteins in your diet. Pulses, nuts and seeds are great low fat providers of proteins that provide selenium, vitamin E, essential fatty acids and fibre. Try adding some lentils or kidney beans to a vegetable soup or casserole or try houmous as a lunchtime snack.

·         Try to regularly include fish in the diet. White fish is a great low fat source of protein and is delicious served with chopped mango or on a bed of ratatouille. Oily fish provides the essential fatty acids omega 3 and 6 which are essential for heart and brain health. Aim to eat oily fish twice a week and white fish once or twice a week.

·         Reduce your caffeine intake… try cutting your intake by substituting caffeinated drinks like tea and coffee with non-caffeinated drinks like barley, not from concentrate orange juice, water and herbal teas. 

If you have any queries for Aveen, you can e-mail her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and for more interesting information around health topics, log on to www.kelkin.ie.

Kelkin, Makes the Healthy Choice, the Easy Choice