healthy choices
healthy eating
What does it mean to keep healthy?
Keeping healthy means doing things that are good for your body – things like eating nutritious foods, exercising, brushing your teeth and getting enough sleep.
It’s important to understand how what you eat and what you do affects your body. A balanced diet means that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs. Brushing your teeth at least twice a day helps prevent tooth decay. Exercising for around 30-60 minutes each day means that you’ll stay fit and burn the right amount of calories.
Top 10 facts
Keeping healthy means caring for your body so you have enough energy to learn, play and grow.
All foods contain nutrients which your body needs to stay active throughout the day. Some foods have more nutrients than others.
Everyone should have their ‘5 a day’ – this means five portions of fruit and vegetables, to get the right amount of nutrients.
A ‘portion’ means the amount of food that fits in your hand. When you eat more than what your body needs to keep healthy and energised during the day, you can put on too much weight.
In addition to your 5 a day, you also need portions of other food group like carbohydrates, water, fibre, minerals and fats.
It’s important that you get the right amount of each food group, which is called a balanced diet. Your diet is another word for the food that you eat – too much one food group and too little of another food group can can mean that your body isn’t healthy.
It's important not to eat too much sugar and salt: sugary foods are bad for your teeth and can be fattening, and salty foods can lead to heart disease.
Keep your mouth happy by brushing and flossing to have healthy teeth and gums.
Adults can keep healthy by avoiding things like alcohol and nicotine from cigarettes. Both of these can cause dangerous diseases.
It’s important to have 30-60 minutes of exercise every day. This can be little things like running around your back garden, playing games with your friends or even doing chores at home!
Watch this film to find out about how our food helps our bodies.
healthy activities
You exercise all the time without even thinking of it. When you run around outside or play kickball at school, you are exercising. What else counts as exercise? Playing sports, dancing, and doing push-ups. Even reaching down to touch your toes!
When you exercise, you make your body stronger. So be active every day. Your body will thank you!
Make Your Heart Happy!
Your heart is a muscle. It works hard, pumping blood every day. Help your heart get stronger by doing aerobic (say: air-OH-bik) exercise.
Aerobic means "with air." When you do aerobic exercise, you breathe faster so you take in more air. Your heart beats harder too. This gives your heart a workout. It will get even better at its main job — taking oxygen from the air you breathe in and giving it to all your body parts.
What Type of Exercise Is Good for Me?
Lots of exercises can get your heart pumping. Try these:
swimming basketball hockey running or walking skating football rugby riding your bike skipping
How Can I Get Stronger Muscles?
Did you ever swing across the monkey bars at the playground or play a game of tag? They can make your leg and arm muscles stronger. Here are other ways to build strong muscles:
push-ups pull-ups tug-of-war rowing running jumping bike riding
How Can I Be More Flexible?
Being flexible means you can stretch your body easily. Exercises that build flexibility feel really good, like when you take a big stretch in the morning after waking up. It's easy to find things that help you stretch:
gymnastics yoga dancing karate bending, twisting, and reaching
Exercise Feels Good
It feels good to have a strong, flexible body that can do all the things you enjoy — like running, jumping, and playing with your friends. It's also fun to be good at something, like making a basket, hitting a home run, or dancing.
Exercising can also put you in a better mood. When you exercise, your brain releases chemicals that make you feel happier. It's just another reason why exercise is a good idea!
Joe Wicks
Get moving with Joe!