A Fruit and Veg Sense workshop will be held at Green Point Christian College on June 3, with the message that adding more fruit and veg to the daily diet could be the key to saving lives across the Central Coast.
The region’s residents are being called on to take action to reduce the risk of death and diseases, such as cancer. It follows the release of new reports showing that a lack of fruit and vegetables caused more death and illness than any other dietary factor. Alarmingly, less than 4 per cent of people are eating enough vegetables and only one third are consuming enough fruit. Cancer Council NSW’s flagship nutrition program ‘Eat It To Beat It’ is working with schools and parents across the Central Coast to provide practical, budget friendly ways to help families understand why fruit and vegetables are so important and to get the whole household eating more.
The program provides free sessions and workshops, healthy recipes and tips for saving time, money and enticing even the fussiest of eaters to enjoy healthy food. “It’s about starting with a small change to cut your family’s cancer risk, something as simple as adding salad to a sandwich at lunch time, or putting an extra piece of veg on the dinner plate, and building a healthier diet from there,” Hunter Central Coast Senior Nutrition Project Officer, Ms Nayerra Hudson said. A new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report shows a diet low in fruit was responsible for 20 per cent of the disease burden for certain types of head, neck and oesophageal cancers, while a diet low in vegetables was responsible for 21 per cent of the burden for several types of head and neck cancers. “We know that instilling good habits at an early age can help set a pattern of healthy eating for life,” Ms Hudson said.
Media release, May 19, 2016 Nayerra Hudson, Nutrition Officer Cancer Council NSW