Dieta y salud
Food and health vocabulary for the Identidades theme, with the verbs that go with it. Two traps worth knowing before the exam: comida means both food and the midday meal, and estar a dieta is not the same as tener una dieta.
Comer bien
la alimentaciónfnoun
the diet, what you eat
La alimentación is what you eat in general; la dieta is usually a restricted one.
equilibradoadjective
balanced
Una alimentación equilibrada. · A balanced diet.
saludableadjective
healthy
Saludable describes food and habits; sano can also describe a person who is well.
la verdurafnoun
the vegetables
Usually singular in Spanish: como mucha verdura.
la frutafnoun
the fruit
Also singular for the category: la fruta es cara.
la legumbrefnoun
the pulses
integraladjective
wholemeal
Pan integral, arroz integral. · Wholemeal bread, brown rice.
la proteínafnoun
the protein
la fibrafnoun
the fibre
caseroadjective
home-made
Comida casera. · Home cooking.
Comer mal
la comida chatarrafnoun
the junk food
Chatarra in Latin America, basura in Spain. Both literally mean rubbish.
la grasafnoun
the fat
Tiene mucha grasa. · It is very fatty.
fritoadjective
fried
procesadoadjective
processed
el azúcar añadidomnoun
the added sugar
picar entre horas
to snack between meals
A fixed phrase. Picar on its own is to nibble.
saltarse una comida
to skip a meal
No te saltes el desayuno. · Do not skip breakfast.
Los verbos
cuidarseverb
to look after yourself
Me estoy cuidando. · I am watching what I eat.
Reflexive, and the most natural way to say you are being careful with food.
estar a dieta
to be on a diet
Estar a dieta is temporary and restrictive. Do not confuse it with la dieta as simply what you eat.
evitarverb
to avoid
Evito el azúcar. · I avoid sugar.
reducirverb
to cut down on
aumentarverb
to increase
engordarverb
to put on weight
No reflexive: engordé tres kilos.
adelgazarverb
to lose weight
Bajar de peso is more common in Latin America.
hacer ejercicio
to exercise
Hacer, not practicar. Practicar goes with a named sport.
Hablar de hábitos
el hábitomnoun
the habit
solerverb
to usually do
Suelo desayunar fruta. · I usually have fruit for breakfast.
Soler plus infinitive is the neatest way to describe a routine, and it scores well in an exam.
a menudo
often
Seguido in Latin America: como fruta seguido.
de vez en cuando
now and then
rara vez
rarely
llevar una vida sana
to live healthily
Intento llevar una vida sana. · I try to live healthily.