What you eat has a serious impact on your health and wellbeing – both now and for the rest of your life. By having a healthy, balanced diet, you can feel your best.

1. Drink Enough Water

Water makes up to 60% of body weight in men and 50-55% in women. Water regulates our body’s temperature, transports nutrients and compounds in the blood, removes waste products and more. It is lost in urine, sweat, breath and even evaporates through our skin. By regularly replacing this fluid, we avoid dehydration.

The Eatwell Guide suggests 6-8 glasses of fluid a day. However, if the weather is hotter or you’re exercising, you will likely need to drink more.

A great way to keep track of your water intake is by using a large water bottle or a water tracking app on your phone.

Fluid intake doesn’t just have to be water. You also get water from food. On average, it’s estimated that food provides about 20% of your total fluid intake. Other fluids include soft drinks and fruit juices. However, these can be high in sugar, which can damage your teeth if consumed too frequently. Milk contains essential nutrients, but also has saturated fat, so it’s recommended for adults and older children to chose semi-skimmed or skimmed milk.

2. Fruit and Vegetables

The NHS recommends eating a minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. A portion can include 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables or 30g of dried fruit.

A fun way to include enough fruit and vegetables is to vary what you eat. Next time you go to the supermarket or local street market, see what’s on offer. There will likely be fresh food that’s in-season or foreign varieties. Then, on BBC GoodFood, use the search bar – type in your combination of fruit or vegetables and find an easy, new recipe to try.

3. Salt

Eating too much salt can have a negative impact on your blood pressure and your heart. The British Nutrition Foundation advise us to eat less than 6g (around 1 teaspoon) of salt a day. The NHS explains that approximately 75% of the salt we eat is already in everyday foods such as bread, breakfast cereal and ready meals. Therefore, when cooking and eating at home, taste your food before adding salt, as it probably tastes flavoursome without adding extra.

4. Eat Breakfast

We always hear an adult nagging, ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ – and it really is! Breakfast replenishes your glucose levels (lost overnight) which increases your energy and concentration. Some healthy breakfast ideas include porridge, overnight oats with nuts and fruit, wholegrain cereal with yoghurt or milk, wholegrain or sourdough toast with nut butter, smoothies with fruit, yoghurt and vegetable, or some natural yoghurt with fruit and nuts. You can always prepare the night before to save time in the morning.

5. Snacks

Always have some healthy snacks on hand, as it will stop you from buying or having junk food.

Check out these fun and easy snack ideas:

– Pitta And Hummus

– Beetroot Brownies (Recipe Here)

– Peanut Butter On Apple (And Maybe Even Some Chocolate Chips Sprinkled On Top)

– Sunshine Bars – Made From Oats (Recipe Here)

– Popcorn With Dried Fruit And Nuts

– Natural Yoghurt And Berries

– Frozen Yoghurt Bites (Recipe Here)

– A Smoothie With Your Favourite Fruit

– Baked Apple Crisps With Cinnamon (Recipe Here)

What’s your favourite healthy meal?