Chest Information

• Home
• About Us
• Chest Information
  • Understanding Your Lungs
  • Specific Chest Conditions
  • Tests And Investigations
  • Treatments
  • Living With Your Chest Condition
    • Chest Infections
    • Chest Clearance / Physiotherapy
    • Stop Smoking
    • Coping With Breathlessness
    • Pulmonary Rehabilitation
    • Keeping Active
    • Eating Healthily
    • Controlling Your Weight
    • Controlling Your Environment
    • Conserving Energy
    • Coping With Depression And Feeling Down
    • Coping With Anxiety
    • Relaxation
    • Flying With a Chest Condition
    • Your Sex Life
  • Where To Get Help
  • Chest Glossary
  • Chest Links
• Heart Information
• Stroke Information
• Advice Line
• Publications and DVDs
• Community Support
• Fundraising
• Education, Training and Funding Applications
• Voices Scotland
• Research
• Volunteering
• Health Professionals
• Stroke Chat Scotland

You are in: Home > Chest Information > Living With > Eating Healthily

Eating Healthily

• What is a healthy, varied diet?
• The eatwell plate
• Tips for healthier eating
• Stay hydrated!

What is a healthy, varied diet?

Eating a healthy, varied diet helps to keep you – and your lungs – healthy. It can help to minimise / fight infections and can give you more energy to become more active.

Usually, eating a more healthy diet only means making small changes to the meals you already eat, eating a little more of some things and less of others.

A healthy varied diet should include foods from all food groups, i.e. carbohydrates (such as pasta, rice, potatoes, root vegetables and bread), proteins (such as meat, eggs, fish and poultry), dairy products, fruit and vegetables.

The general healthy–eating message is to:

• Eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
• Increase the intake of fibre in your diet.
• Reduce the fat in your diet, replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats / oils.
• Eat less sugar.
• Watch how much salt you eat.
• Check the food labels. This gets you used to knowing what is in the food you are eating.

Back to top

The eatwell plate

This is the eatwell plate showing how much of what you eat should come from each food group. This includes everything you eat during the day, including snacks.

Back to top

Tips for healthier eating

• Reduce saturated fat: saturated fat in your diet contributes to high cholesterol levels. Replace saturated fat with unsaturated oils (more detailed advice is covered in the section about controlling cholesterol).
• Increase omega–3 fats: it may help to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, one of which should be oily fish, e.g. mackerel, herring, sardines, trout, salmon or pilchards.
• Reduce your salt intake: too much salt (sodium) in the diet can contribute to high blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease (more detailed advice is covered in the section about reducing salt).
• Increase fruit and vegetables: aim for a minimum 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.
  • One portion could be a banana, two plums, a couple of broccoli florets, a carrot, a handful of strawberries or 2 tablespoons of peas.
  • All dried, canned and frozen fruit and vegetables also count.
  • Fruit juice counts as a serving once a day.
  • Beans and pulses also count as a serving once a day.
  • Potatoes do not count as they are carbohydrates.
• Increase soluble fibre: fibre is found in vegetables and cereals such as potatoes (with skin), broccoli, beans, oats, corn, wheat and bran. Increase the amount of fibre–rich foods and choose wholemeal bread and pasta. Fibre may help to lower cholesterol.

Back to top

Stay hydrated!

It is also important to keep your body well hydrated. This stops your sputum from getting too sticky and makes chest clearance exercises easier.

Try to drink 8–10 cups of non–alcoholic fluid a day, even if it means an extra visit to the toilet. Limit your alcohol intake as drinking alcohol causes dehydration. Also watch how much coffee and tea you drink, as both contain caffeine which has a diuretic effect, i.e. makes you go to the toilet more.

Back to top