HSE WEST'S community nutrition and dietetic service is offering a free service for people concerned about their health, which involves a supermarket tour with a nutritionist.
The nutritionist accompanies the person or group through the supermarket advising them on weekly food shopping.
Community dietitian with the HSE West, Ann Marie Lydon, says looking for a rainbow of colours in your shopping trolley can help you stay healthy and avoid obesity.
"Obesity is fast becoming a serious health concern in Ireland, with one in eight Irish people being obese and every second person being overweight. As a nation, we are becoming progressively heavier as can be seen from a 30 per cent increase in reported obesity levels over the past four years. The good news is that every one of use can make daily choices which can prevent us putting on too much weight," she explains.
Ms Lydon says how you shop for your food can have a major impact on your weight and shopping is one of the first steps to healthy eating. "The first thing to avoid is shopping when hungry. If you shop when you are hungry, you tend to buy more 'quick fix' high sugar and high calorie food," she says.
Variety is one of the key components of a healthy diet, according to Ms Lydon, and it is important to plan your meals over the week. You can decide to eat a variety of fish, chicken and red meats over the week with different vegetables and a combination of potatoes, pasta and rice. Try to buy more fresh foods and use frozen vegetables as an alternative to fresh vegetables when you need to.
If you would like to attend a supermarket tour with a HSE West region dietitian, contact the Community Nutrition and Dietetic Service on 091-548335.
