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Healthy Eating & Physical Activity Categories
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Active for Health
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Age and Stage
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Infants, Children and Youth
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- Healthy Eating Guidelines for Your Vegetarian Baby: 6-12 months
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- Helping Your Child Who Is Overweight
- Interactive Tool: What Is Your Child's BMI?
- Mealtime and Your Toddler
- Parenting Babies (0-12 months)
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- Physical Activity for Infants, Children and Youth
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Infants, Children and Youth
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Being Active
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Getting Started
- Getting Started: Adding More Physical Activity to Your Life
- Quick Tips: Fitting Physical Activity Into Your Day
- Quick Tips: Getting Active as a Family
- Fitness: Adding More Activity To Your Life
- Getting Started With Flexibility and Exercise
- Fitness Machines
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- The Three Types of Physical Activity
- Overcoming Barriers: Adding More Physical Activity to your Life
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Choosing Your Activity
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Staying Active
- Fitness: Getting and Staying Active
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- Quick Tips: Having Enough Energy to Stay Active
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Conditions
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Digestive
- Managing Constipation in Adults
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People with Diverticular Disease
- Fibre and Your Health
- Lower Fibre Food Choices
- Eating Guidelines For Gallbladder Disease
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Lactose Intolerance
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People with Peptic Ulcers
- Bowel Disease: Changing Your Diet
- Celiac Disease: Eating a Gluten-Free Diet
- GERD: Controlling Heartburn by Changing Your Habits
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Controlling Symptoms with Diet
- Food Allergies
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Heart
- Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Coronary Artery Disease: Exercising for a Healthy Heart
- DASH Diet Sample Menu
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People Taking Warfarin Anticoagulants
- Healthy Eating to Lower High Blood Pressure
- Healthy Diet Guidelines for a Healthy Heart
- Heart Arrhythmias and Exercise
- Heart Failure: Eating a Healthy Diet
- Heart Failure: Track Your Weight, Food and Sodium
- Heart-Healthy Eating
- Heart-Healthy Eating: Fish and Fish Oil
- Heart-Healthy Lifestyle
- High Blood Pressure: Nutrition Tips
- High Cholesterol: How a Dietitian Can Help
- Modify Recipes for a Heart-Healthy Diet
- Plant-based Diet Guidelines
- Peripheral Arterial Disease and Exercise
- Physical Activity Helps Prevent a Heart Attack and Stroke
- High Blood Pressure: Using the DASH Diet
- Healthy Eating: Eating Heart-Healthy Foods
- Heart Health: Walking for a Healthy Heart
- Izzy's Story: Living with the DASH Diet
- Exercise and Fibromyalgia
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Kidney and Liver
- Healthy Eating Guidelines for People with Early Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Stages 1 and 2
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- Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
- Lupus: Healthy Eating
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Food and Nutrition
- About Healthy Eating
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Eating Habits
- Developing a Plan for Healthy Eating
- Drinking Enough Water
- Eating Journal
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- Food Journaling: How to Keep Track of What You Eat
- Healthy Eating: Changing Your Eating Habits
- Healthy Eating: Getting Support When Changing Your Eating Habits
- Healthy Eating: Making Healthy Choices When You Eat Out
- Healthy Eating: Making Healthy Choices When You Shop
- Healthy Eating: Overcoming Barriers to Change
- Healthy Eating: Starting a Plan for Change
- Healthy Eating: Staying With Your Plan
- Healthy Eating to Decrease Stress
- Jaci's Story: Changing her Life With Small Steps
- Jeremy's Story: Focusing on Eating Habits
- Loralie's Story: It's Never Too Late
- Maggie Morries: Plan Ahead When You Eat Out
- Plant-based Foods
- Sugary Drinks and Other Beverages
- Sodium
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Nutrients
- Added Sugars
- Antioxidants
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- Choosing a Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
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- Food Sources of Vitamin K
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- Healthy Eating: Cutting Unhealthy Fats From Your Diet
- Healthy Eating: Taking Calcium and Vitamin D
- High Potassium Eating
- High Potassium Foods
- Iron and Your Health
- Iron in Foods
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- Major Nutrients in Food
- Minerals: Their Functions and Sources
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- Quick Nutrition Check for Protein
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- Types of Fats
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Healthy Weights
- About Healthy Weights
- Genetic Influences on Weight
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- Quick Tips: Cutting Calories
- Physical Activity for Weight Loss
- Weight Loss by Limiting Calories
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- Exercise Helps Maggie Stay at a Healthy Weight
- Healthy Eating: Recognizing Your Hunger Signals
- Hunger, Fullness, and Appetite Signals
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- Maggie's Strategies for Eating Healthy
- Maggie: Making Room for Worth-It Foods
- Maggie's Story: Making Changes for Her Health
- Weight Management Centre
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Policies and Guidelines
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Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC Schools
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Making Bake Sales Delicious and Nutritious
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Boosting the Sales of Nutritious Food in Schools
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Food Fundraiser Ideas for Schools
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Involving Everyone in Implementing the Guidelines
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Selling Food and Beverages at School Sporting Events
- Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales: Planning Healthy Cafeteria Menus
- Healthier Choices in Vending Machines
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Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in BC Schools
- Provincial Nutrition Resource Inventory
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Forms and Tools
- Walking Log
- Exercise Planning Form
- Physical Activity Log
- Par-Q+ and ePARmed-X+
- Target Heart Rate
- Interactive Tool: What is Your Target Heart Rate
- Borg-Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale
- Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE)
- Overview of BC Provincial and Federal Nutrition Benefits Programs
- Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Body Mass Index (BMI) for Adults
- Interactive Tool: Do Your BMI and Waist Size Increase Your Health Risks?
- Measuring Your Waist
- Body Fat Testing
- Fitness: Using a Pedometer, Step Counter, or Wearable Device
- Email a HealthLinkBC Dietitian
- Email a Qualified Exercise Professional
We need small amounts of sodium, but eating too much can increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Most adults only need 1500 mg of sodium per day. Many Canadians eat much more than this. To decrease the risk of chronic disease, limit your intake to below 2300mg.
Planning ahead can help you decrease the amount of sodium in your diet. Use the information in this handout to make lower sodium choices.
Steps You Can Take
1. Limit highly processed foods
- Highly processed foods are the main source of sodium in our diets. These foods include:
- bakery products, such as breads, muffins, cookies, desserts, crackers, granola bars
- mixed dishes, such as pizza, lasagna, frozen entrees and appetizers, frozen potatoes, and prepared salads
- processed meat, such as sausages, deli meats, chicken wings, burgers, meatballs
- cheese
- packaged and canned soups
- sauces and condiments.
- If you eat these foods, eat them less often or in smaller amounts.
2. Prepare healthy meals and snacks
- Cook most meals from scratch using less processed ingredients that have little to no added sodium. Great choices include:
- Vegetables and Fruit – fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, canned fruits in their own juice, low sodium canned vegetables.
- Whole Grains – oats, quinoa, barely, brown or wild rice, and whole grain bread and pasta.
- Protein foods – dried or low sodium canned beans, peas and lentils; fresh or low sodium canned fish; unseasoned fresh or frozen lean meat, poultry, seafood, and tofu; unsalted nuts, seeds and their butters; eggs, milk, yogurt, and fortified soy beverage.
- Use less salt at the table. All types of salt including kosher salt, sea salt, fleur de sel, smoked salt, and Himalayan salt are high in sodium.
- Flavour your foods without adding salt:
- Add extra amounts of garlic, onion, and ginger to the recipe.
- Use fresh herbs such as basil, cilantro, and mint.
- Add crushed garlic, mustard, lemon, lime or orange juice to homemade vinaigrette salad dressings.
- Toast unsalted nuts, seeds, or shredded coconut before adding into a recipe.
- Try making your own soups, sauces, and salad dressings. Find quick and easy recipes in the “Recipes” section of Canada’s Food Guide at https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/.
- Use lower sodium versions and smaller amounts of store bought sauces, gravies and condiments such as ketchup, pickles, olives and soy sauce.
- Cook pasta, noodles, rice, hot cereal and other grains without adding salt.
- Rinse canned vegetables and canned beans, peas and lentils to wash away some of the sodium. Choose “low sodium” or “no added salt” options whenever possible.
- Choose whole fruit, vegetables, unsalted nuts or unsalted popcorn instead of chips, salted pretzels and other salty snacks.
3. Compare food labels to choose foods with the least sodium
- Check the food label for the following words:
- "Sodium-free", "low sodium", "reduced sodium,” or "no added salt" will help you find lower sodium choices.
- The percent daily value (%DV) on the nutrition facts table tells you if a food has “a little” or “a lot” of sodium.
- 5% DV or less is "a little" and 15% DV or more is "a lot".
- The % DV helps you to compare products. Serving sizes can vary between products. Compare the amount of sodium in a similar serving size. Choose the product with the lowest %DV.
4. Make healthier choices when eating out
- Restaurant food is often high in sodium.
- Many restaurants provide nutrition information for their menu items.
- Look for this information before you order.
- It may be on the restaurant's website, on a poster or in a pamphlet.
- Check the nutrition information of menu items and choose foods with less sodium.
- Other tips for eating out include:
- Ask if the meal can be made with less salt.
- Order smaller portions.
- Share a dish with someone or save half for another meal.
- Ask for sauces and salad dressings on the side and use smaller amounts.
Additional Resources
For information and advice based on your specific food and nutrition needs and preferences, call 8-1-1 and ask to speak to a HealthLink BC dietitian.
For additional information, see the following resources:
- HealthLink BC www.healthlinkbc.ca – Get medically approved non-emergency health information.
- Canada’s Food Guide https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/
- Health Canada. Understanding food labels. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/understanding-food-labels.html
Contact Physical Activity Services
If you have questions about physical activity or exercise, call 8-1-1 (or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing) toll-free in B.C. Our qualified exercise professionals are available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm Pacific Time. You can also leave a message after hours.
Translation services are available in more than 130 languages.
HealthLinkBC’s qualified exercise professionals can also answer your questions by email.
Contact a Dietitian
If you have any questions about healthy eating, food, or nutrition, call 8-1-1 (or 7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing) toll-free in B.C. You can speak to a health service navigator who can connect you with one of our registered dietitians, who are available 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. You can also leave a message after hours.
Translations services are available in more than 130 languages.
HealthLinkBC Dietitians can also answer your questions by email.