2 . By now, most people know they should be eating more vegetables. But are there ways to get more from the vegetables you already eat? A research shows that when it comes to vegetables, it’s not only how much we eat, but also how we prepare them, that decides the vitamins and other nutrients that enter our body.

Many studies show that people who eat lots of vegetables have less heart disease, and eye problems and even cancer. But raw vegetables are not always best. The researchers found that 198 Germans who eat raw food were short of lycopene, the matter found in tomatoes and other red vegetables. “There is an idea that raw foods are always going to be better,” says Steven K. Clinton, a professor at Ohi o State University. “For fruits and vegetables, sometimes a little bit of cooking can be helpful.”

A number of factors decide how the vegetables do good to people’s health before they reach the table, including where and how they were grown and stored before being bought. No single cooking way is best. Some nutrients are easily lost in cooking if they are cooked in different ways.

Vitamins C and B are often lost. In January, another report said that boiling was better for carrots than frying or serving them raw. Frying was the worst way to cook.

What cooked with the vegetables can also be important? When the vegetables were cooked with fat, the diners can get more nutrients. Fat can also make the taste of vegetables better, meaning that people will eat more of them. Putting on some other things that make it taste better—a little salt—can make the food taste better.

In high school, it’s important to stay healthy.    1    How can you study well if you’re sick? So you should pay attention to your health in order to study well in high school. In order to enjoy good health, you should have some good habits. Here are some tips for you.Drink water regularly every day. Some students don’t like drinking water. They only drink water when they’re extremely thirsty.    2    You should drink water regularly so that your body and brain can function well. Avoid sports drinks and soda when you’re thirsty. They are not good for your health.    3    Some students don’t eat three meals a day. No matter what happens, you shouldn’t skip any meal of the day. Eating regularly helps keep your metabolism (新陈代谢) high and keeps your energy up. It’s especially important to eat a good breakfast every day with protein, carbohydrates(碳水化合物), and fiber to set up your body for the day of activity. If you don’t eat, how can you stay focused in class?Eat the right foods. Some students eat whatever they can get. This is wrong.    4    Choose whole grains like rice and whole wheat flours. Skip muffins, donuts and other processed foods. Instead, choose whole grains, protein, fruits and vegetables.    5    If you do that, you may not pay attention to how much you are eating. You may eat too much. Eating too much harms your health. And you may gain too much weight because of it. Try to eat slowly so your brain sends the right signals to tell your belly that’s full.

I first piled on the pounds when I was in the family way and I couldn’t lose them afterwards. Then I joined a slimming club. My target was 140 pounds and I lost 30 pounds in six months. I felt great and people kept saying how good I looked. But Christmas came and I started to slip back into my old eating habits. I told myself I’d lose the weight at slimming classes in the new year…but it didn’t happen. Instead of losing the pounds, I put them on. I’d lost willpower and tried to believe that the old bag of fish and chips didn’t make any difference but the scales don’t lie.

To be honest, I never weigh myself any more. I’ve learnt to be happy with myself. It seemed to me that I would feel sorry about every spoonful of tasty food that passed my lips. My idea is simple. You shouldn’t be too much thinking about food and dieting. Instead, you should get on with life and stop dreaming of a super thin body. This is obviously the size I’m meant to be and, most of all, I’m happy with it.

I was very happy at winning Young Slimmer of the year. I’d look into the mirror unable to believe this slim lady was me! That might have been my problem—perhaps from then on I didn’t pay any attention to myself. Winning a national competition makes everything worse, though, because you feel the eyes of the world are fixed upon you. I feel a complete failure because I’ve put on weight again.

Before moving in with my husband Gavin, I’d always been about 110 pounds, but the pleasant housework went straight to my waist and I put on 15 pounds in a year. Every so often I try to go on a diet…I’m really good on a few days, then end up having the children’s leftovers or eating happily chocolate—my weakness. I’d like to be slim, but right now my duty is the children and home. I might take more exercise when my kids are older.