Cartooteen save the semester with these studying tips | Page 6

Good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical
activity, your diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of
chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote your overall health. The link
between good nutrition and healthy weight, reduced chronic disease risk, and overall health
is too important to ignore. By taking steps to eat healthy, you'll be on your way to getting
the nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, active, and strong. As with physical activity,
making small changes in your diet can go a long way, and it's easier than you think!

And now here are some key facts for a healthy diet:
 A healthy diet helps protect against malnutrition  Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with
energy expenditure. Evidence indicates that total
in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable
fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake
diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease,
to avoid unhealthy weight gain,
stroke and cancer.
 Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day helps
 Healthy dietary practices start early in life –
prevent hypertension and reduces the risk of
breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and
heart disease and stroke in the adult population.
improves cognitive development, and may have  Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of
longer-term health benefits, like reducing the risk
total energy intake (2, 5) is part of a healthy
of becoming overweight or obese and developing
diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total
NCDs later in life.
energy intake is suggested for additional health
 Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are
benefits.
leading global risks to health.