Call your local health board on 01382 818479 for specific help and advice Eat more starchy foods

Try to plan your meals around starchy foods like bread, cereals, pasta, rice or potatoes. It is important to try to include wholemeal varieties such as wholemeal bread, chapattis, pitta bread or wholegrain breakfast cereals. These contain more fibre which helps avoid constipation. And If you enjoy the skin on new or baked potatoes, this will increase your fibre intake too - but wash the potatoes well before cooking.

Once you have chosen what to base your meal around, choose moderate amounts of a `protein' food - such as meat, fish, eggs, or pulses such as beans and lentils - to accompany it.

Eat less fat and fatty foods

It is generally accepted that a high fat diet - as consumed by many children and adults in the UK - increases the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. It can also make you more prone to becoming overweight.

Fortunately there are some simple changes you can make to reduce the fat in your diet. These can incude include:

• use a low fat spread or spread butter or margarine more thinly on bread or toast
• choose semi skimmed or skimmed rather than full fat milk;
• choose straight, chunky oven chips rather than deep fried chips;
• choose leaner meat or trim fat from meat, and remove skin from chicken before cooking
• buy a stronger cheese and grate rather than slice it - you use less and still achieve a good flavour in sandwiches and sauces;
• grill or steam rather than fry food;

If you eat `ready meals' you will not be able to control the amount of fat or oil in the recipe. Therefore try not to choose meals with a rich or cheese sauce too often. Also eat only as much as you want -the portion size provided may be more generous than you would normally eat. Remember-the significance of any one particular food in your diet will depend on how often you eat it and how large a portion you eat.

Know your fats

Research suggests that the type of fat also has a role to play in the development of heart disease. Fat in food is made up of a mixture of different fatty acids - saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Fat from different sources will contain a mixture of these, but one type usually predominates.

Saturates

Reducing saturates in the diet can help reduce the risk of heart disease. They are found mainly in foods of animal origin such as meat and full fat dairy products. Palm and coconut oils are also a relatively rich source. These oils are used to make hard margarines and are often used by food manufacturers for biscuits, cakes and pastry goods.

Monounsaturates

There is increasing evidence that these fatty acids are beneficial to health. This might be one reason why the Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. Olive oil, groundnut oil and margarines made from these oils are good sources - but they are also present in smaller quantities in meat and dairy products.

Polyunsaturates

Moderate amounts of polyunsaturates appear beneficial in reducing blood cholesterol. High blood cholesterol increases the likelihood of suffering from heart disease. Some polyunsaturates are found in sunflower, corn, soya oil and margarines made from these oils. Another type is found in oily fish and nuts.

Eat Fewer Salty Foods

Eating too much salt has been linked to high blood pressure, which increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. It is particularly important to avoid a high salt diet if there is a history of high blood pressure in your family. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) encourages people to reduce the amount of salt in their diet. The aim is to eat no more than 6g of salt a day. However, the average adult currently consumes around 9g of salt each day - that's 50% more. And about 75% of the salt we eat is hidden in all sorts of processed foods - not just the obvious ones such as crisps or nuts. Sodium chloride is the chemical name for salt. It is the sodium in salt that affects blood pressure. Food labels will tell you the sodium content of the food - some also tell you the salt content. if a food contains more than 0.5g sodium per 100g food, this is considered high

To reduce salt intake:

• limit the number of salty snack foods you eat
• be aware of the salt in processed foods and limit the frequency with which you eat them and portion size
• gradually reduce the amount of salt used in cooking and add flavour by using herbs and spices;
• use half a stock cube rather than a whole one when making a casserole
• look for low salt versions of baked beans and canned vegetables;
• steam or microwave vegetables rather than cook in salted wate - this helps to preserve their flavour and vitamins too
• don't put salt on the table.

You can also buy reduced-sodium alternatives to salt for cooking and seasoning food. But it's a good idea to discuss it with your GP before changing to such products,

Eat less sugary food and drinks

Being overweight and tooth decay are often associated with a high sugar diet.
But eating sugar or sugar-rich food and drinks does not, in itself, cause you to become overweight.

"…eating sugar or sugar-rich food and drinks does not, in itself, cause you to become overweight."

It can be associated with weight gain because most people find sugary foods enjoyable and the temptation to eat them frequently can be high. So, without realising it you can be consuming more calories than you need each day. Plus the combination of sugar with fat in foods - such as biscuits, cakes, ice cream and chocolate bars - makes an excess intake of calories even more likely.

Tooth decay is not linked to the total amount of sugar you eat. It is how often you have sugary foods and drinks rather than how much sugar you have that is important. The more often teeth are bathed with a sugary solution, the more opportunities there are for the decay process to begin. So if you are going to have sugary foods or drinks, try to ensure it is at mealtimes. Chewing food during a meal will stimulate the flow of saliva, bathing your teeth and helping to wash the sugar away.

Ways to reduce the sugar in your diet might include:

• using artificial sweeteners or a sugar substitute in hot drinks;
• eating biscuits, chocolate bars, pastries and cakes less frequently;
• having a piece of fruit rather than a sugary snack;
• not `rewarding' yourself with a sugary snack;
• choosing low sugar soft drinks or mixers.

Milk and dairy products as part of a healthy diet

Health messages about dairy products used to focus on their fat content. Today the focus is on choosing lower fat versions and the importance of milk and dairy products such as yogurt, cheese and fromage frais as sources of calcium.

Calcium is important throughout life not just childhood. Adults need calcium to maintain strong bones. Calcium along with vitamin D and regular weight bearing exercise are important in the prevention of osteoporosis.

"Calcium is important throughout life not just childhood."

Calcium is also found in lesser amounts in non dairy foods. These include products made with white flour which is fortified with calcium; green leafy vegetables, fish such as in canned sardines or mackerel - as long as you eat the bones - nuts and seeds such as almonds and sesame seeds and pulses such as chickpeas and kidney beans.

Milk substitutes for vegans or those allergic to milk - such as soya or rice milk - are usually fortified with calcium. But check the label to make sure.

Information obtained from Age Concern Factsheet 45 'Staying Healthy Later in Life' November 2005.www.ageconcern.co.uk