The theme for World Health Day 2015, which is organised by the World Health Organization, is Food Safety. Taking place on Tuesday 7 April, the aim of the day is to make people more confident that the food on their plate is safe to eat.

And with society now full of environmental pollutants, pesticides, food additives and chemicals, it’s more important than ever to be aware of what you eat.

That’s because food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses or chemical substances causes more than 200 diseases – including diarrhoea, cancer and even death.

So how can I make sure food is safe?

In Scotland, a recent YouGov poll revealed that when it comes to food, the Scottish public is most concerned about making sure they and their families eat a healthy, balanced diet, followed by worries over food authenticity and concern over food safety.

Before we explain how to maintain a healthy, balanced diet – we asked Anne Cross, our nutritional therapist, to give us her top five tips to make sure food is safe:

1. Know the food you use – make sure you read the labels when buying and preparing food.
2. Separate raw and cooked food. Keeping raw and cooked food separate prevents the transfer of microorganisms.
3. Cook food thoroughly – especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood.
4. Avoid overcooking when frying, grilling or baking foods as this may produce toxic chemicals.
5. When shopping, keep raw meat, poultry and fish away from your basket and make sure you keep them in separate bags on your way home.

OK, got it – so how do I eat a healthy, balanced diet?

As we mentioned above, the Scottish public is most concerned about making sure they and their families eat a healthy, balanced diet. And quite rightly too.

After all, eating safe, nutritious food helps everyone enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle.

Once again, we asked Anne, who offers nutritional therapy at YourGP, to share her top five tips to maintain a healthy, balanced diet:

1. This piece of nutritional advice has been around for generations, but it still rings true today – eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.
2. Eat plenty of meat, fish and eggs – these are important sources of protein, vitamins and minerals.
3. Cut down on saturated fat and added sugars, like chocolate, sweets, butters and soft drinks.
4. Drink plenty of water (about six to eight glasses) every day – it can help you burn fat and increase your energy levels.
5. Make sure you eat and drink plenty of milk and dairy foods – they’re great sources of protein and calcium.

Nutrition and safe food at YourGP

At YourGP, fully-trained nutritional therapist, Anne Cross, offers nutritional therapy, which uses an understanding of the way in which food affects our health and bodies to help prevent a range of diseases, and optimise overall health and wellbeing.

Nutritional therapy can help a wide range of health problems and challenges, including obesity, diabetes, stress and anxiety, high blood pressure and fertility issues.

If you want more nutritional advice, or want to book a nutritional therapy consultation, use our online booking form, call us on 0131 225 5656 or email our reception team at reception@your.gp.

For more information or advice, leave a comment below or get in touch on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

And if you want to get involved in World Health Day 2015, you can use the hashtag #safefood on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Vine.