The meeting with the dietician (Germany)

In Germany, the meeting with the dietician - an expert who works for the company that runs our school canteen - took place in January. Two pupils summed up the rules the dietician told us about. Here is what they wrote plus some photos:

Healthy food and lifestyle

To stay healthy, happy and fit there are certain rules you should follow.

1) First of all, it is important to eat many different food products as they all provide different nutrients. But you should choose low-energy food.
2) Secondly, grain products (e.g. bread, noodles, rice; preferable wholegrain) and potatoes contain little fat but are rich in vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients.
3) The best you can do for your health is to eat 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables each day. Only one of these should be a juice.
4) Another important aspect are milkproducts, fish (2 times a week), meat and eggs. They contain calcium, iodine, iron and vitamins. About 300- 800g of meat per week is the perfect dose. You should choose low- fat products.
5) This leads us to another rule. Fat is necessary but too much leads to overweight and they can cause other illnesses like cardiovascular diseases. Herbal oils and fat are much better than animal fat. Pay attention to invisible fat in sweets, fast food and finished products.
6) Use salt and sugar economically and avoid drinks with a lot of sugar. Salt should contain iodine and fluoride.
7) It is very important to drink water and other low- energy drinks. You should drink about 1,5 litres each day.
8) But food should taste good as well, shouldn’t it? Cook the food at low temperatures and with only little water and fat. This will conserve the natural taste and the nutrients.
9) Enjoy your meal! You should take your time, it’s fun and you won’t be hungry afterwards. And remember the eye eats your meal as well…
10) The last aspect is very important of course- sports. 30-60 minutes a day will help you to keep your weight and live a healthy life.

Greta & Hannah