Eat for your future

Daily dose of D
Vitamin D and calcium are like Posh and Becks, without one you don't get the other. Vitamin D is essential, it's needed to absorb calcium from the gut and to help deposit it in the skeleton. The main source of vitamin D is sunlight but that doesn't mean you have to baste yourself in oil and lie out in it all day - for most people except those who are housebound or among those in communities who have to wear enveloping clothes, a small amount is more than sufficient. Vitamin D is also present in oily fish like herring, salmon and tuna.

The bulk of the matter
Keeping your bowel movements regular is not the preserve of old ladies, fibre is needed by all of us to keep our guts healthy and help reduce our blood cholesterol levels. The average diet contains around 12g fibre, falling short of the recommended amount of 18g. There are two types of fibre, insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fibre helps prevent constipation and is found in wholegrains, potatoes, bran-based cereals, muesli, wholemeal bread, granary bread, wholemeal pasta and brown rice. Soluble fibre reduces cholesterol and can be found in pulses and beans such as lentils, black eye and red kidney beans. If you are getting lazy with your fibre intact increase it by eating wholemeal or wholegrain alternatives e.g. cornflakes with bran flakes, white bread with wholemeal, and adding pulses or beans to meat stews.

Eat more ketchup
Phytochemicals are being hailed as the new wonderfood that will protect us against cancers and heart disease. But if that bit of information fails to light your digestive juices check out where they are found. For example lycopene, a phytochemical thought to reduce the risk of heart disease, is found in high levels in tomato products such as tomato ketchup, canned tomatoes and tomato soup. Another phytochemical compound flavonoids is found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, tea, onions and apples. Scientific studies have shown that these act as antioxidants, which protect us against free radicals, the nasties that cause cancer and speed up the

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