The aim is to increase the amount of fibre in your diet

Whilst reducing the amounts of fat, salt & sugar

Increase Fibre: Also called “roughage”, it is rigid plant material that assists the passage of food through the bowel.  Try to choose brown rather than white wherever possible – i.e. 100% wholemeal bread, brown pasta, bake with wholemeal flour, eat high fibre cereals (All Bran, Weetabix, Shredded Wheat are all examples), for biscuits choose Digestives, Hob Nobs, Muesli biscuits, Fruit & vegetables, of course, contain a lot of fibre, especially if you eat the skin (of grapes, peaches, jacket potatoes etc.) Pulses are good – lentils, beans etc & they are also a good source of protein.

Reduce Fats: High fat intake significantly increases the risk of heart disease & all efforts to reduce the amount of fat eaten should be made.  Choose lean meat & cut all visible fat from meat before cooking.  Try to avoid frying – grill, poach, bake.  Steam or microwave instead, draining off any excess fat once cooked.  Chicken & fish are better than red meat.  Limit your egg consumption to 3 per week (not too much mayonnaise which contains eggs!). Eat low fat cheese wherever possible – cottage cheese is very low fat.  Use a low fat spread or polyunsaturated margarine instead of butter & not much of it!  Use skimmed milk & avoid cream – there are many alternatives in the shops. Reduce your cake & pastry eating – if you bake your own use less fat!

Reduce Sugars: These are bad for teeth & make you fat!  Try tea & coffee without sugar or use one of the alternatives available (Nutrasweet, Hermesetas etc).  Choose unsweetened cereals (& don’t add sugar!)’ biscuits, low sugar jams & artificially sweetened yoghurts.  Try vinegar pickles instead of chutneys.  Tinned fruit should be “in natural juice” & not syrup. Read products labels – look for glucose, syrup, dextrose etc & avoid these products if the amounts are high.  Fizzy drinks (Pepsi, Lemonade etc) should be of the “Light” or  “Diet” variety.

Reduce Salt: Too high an intake of salt can cause raised blood pressure. Limit its use in cooking & don’t add more at the table.  Most herbs & spices bring out the foods flavour as well as, if not better, than salt.  Avoid “takeaway”, pre-cooked, smoked or processed meats when possible as these normally contain a lot of salt.  Use less bottled sauces & pickles.

There are 3 major food groups: 1) Carbohydrates, e.g. sugars & starches, including potatoes, pasta, bread, alcohol; 2) Proteins, e.g. meats, liver, fish; & 3) Fats & oils.  Weight for weight, fats &oils have over twice as many calories as carbohydrates & proteins – bear this in mind when dieting!

Try to keep to a regular meal pattern, take moderate exercise if possible, and give up