Is it more expensive to eat healthily?

It really depends on what you are currently eating and how much you are spending on items you should eat less of - such as chocolate bars, biscuits, crisps, soft drinks or snack foods.

Calculate how much you are spending on these foods. A piece of fruit often costs no more than a chocolate bar or packet of crisps.

Other ways that following healthy eating advice can be cheaper include:

• 
  Making a casserole rather than buying more expensive items such as chops
• Using less meat than usual when making a casserole and adding another source of protein such as red kidney beans or lentils instead
• Serving larger portions of bread, pasta or rice with smaller portions of meat or fish
• Eating fewer ready or takeaway meals particularly those relatively high in salt and/or fat
• Choosing vegetable and fruit in season when they are good value for money
  

Do I need to take vitamin supplements?

The Food Standards Agency believes most people should get all the vitamins they need by eating a healthy diet. However vitamins such as vitamin C and folic acid - which are found in many fruits, potatoes and green leafy vegetables - are destroyed by overcooking in too much water. So remember to cook vegetables lightly in the minimum of water. Steaming them or cooking in a little water in the microwave oven will help preserve their vitamins. We also get most of our vitamin D not from food, but from exposure of our skin to sunlight. Therefore people who may need to think about a vitamin D supplement are those who:

• Are unable to get out regularly
• Keep their skin covered when they go out
• Are housebound

Sitting outside or beside an open window on a sunny spring or summer day is therefore good for your health. However if you think you may need to take a vitamin D supplement, discuss this with your GP. Vitamin D is also found in oily fish, eggs, liver and fortified foods such as margarine and some breakfast cereals.

Is it important to eat breakfast?

Breakfast is a very important meal as it breaks an overnight fast. People who do not have breakfast are often tempted to eat biscuits and similar snacks that are high in sugar and/or fat during the morning.

You can make a good start to a 'healthy eating' day by having a breakfast of fruit juice and a high fibre cereal with milk or wholemeal toast.

Is eating bran a good way to increase my fibre intake?

Bran is a concentrated source of fibre but does not provide the other nutrients found in fibre rich starchy foods such as wholemeal bread or wholegrain breakfast cereals. As bran can also limit the absorption of important nutrients it should be used with care. If you take bran to help prevent constipation, see if you can achieve the same effect by eating wholegrain breakfast cereal and/or wholemeal bread. Regular exercise can also help with constipation. Taking bran but not drinking sufficient fluid can actually make constipation worse. When you have plenty of fibre in your diet it's important to drink plenty of fluids. It is also important to take plenty of fluids If you are constipated, as this helps keep food moving through your system.

Why is it important to eat oily fish?

Oily fish such as mackerel, trout, salmon, pilchards, sardines and herring are good sources of vitamin D. Their oil also contains fatty acids that can decrease the likelihood of blood clots forming and so reduces your risk of heart attack. There is even evidence that if you have already had a heart attack, eating oily fish twice a week can reduce your chance of having another one.

Information courtesy of 'Age Concern Factsheet 45, Staying Healthy Later in Life, November 2005'. Website:www.ageconcernscotland.org.uk