A healthy balanced diet is crucial to weight management and can help us be our best. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the correct proportions and consuming the correct amounts of food and drinks in any given day to maintain a healthy body weight.
Food groups in a healthy diet
For a healthy balanced diet, we should try to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables each day, base our meals on high fibre starchy food such as potatoes, bread, rice or pasta, we should have some dairy or dairy alternatives such as soya drinks and include some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other forms of proteins. We should choose unsaturated oils and spreads and eat them in small amounts. We should also drink plenty of fluids, at least 6 to 8 glasses a day. If we’re having foods and drinks that are high in fats, salt and sugar, we should have them less often and smaller amounts. We should try and chose a variety of different foods from the 5 main food groups and get as wide a range of nutrients as possible.
Most people consume to many calories, fats, salt and sugar in a given day a not enough fruits, vegetables oily fish and fibre.
This does not apply to children under the age of 2 years as they have different dietary requirements and children should gradually start consuming the same foods as the rest of the family between 2 and 5 years of age.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre and should make up at least a third of our daily diet. It is recommended to have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables each day, these can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced. There is strong evidence that people who regularly consume at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day have a lower risk of heart disease, strokes and some cancers.
5 portions are not as hard as it sounds, and one portion would be 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables, 150ml glass of fruit juice or a smoothie (but don’t have more than 1 portion of these a day as these drinks are sugary and can cause tooth decay), 1 apple, 1 banana, 1 pear or similar-sized fruit, a slice of pineapple or melon, a tablespoon of dried fruit, such as raisins on your morning cereal or 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables. We could also swap our midmorning biscuit for a banana and add a side salad to our lunch. In the evenings we have a portion of vegetables with your dinner and fresh fruit with plain or lower fat yoghurt as a desert, and there we have our five portions for the day.
Starchy foods
A starchy food type should make up just over a third of everything we eat. This means our meals should be based on starchy foods. Try choosing wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta and brown wholemeal or higher fibre white bread, as they contain more fibre and usually more vitamins and minerals, than their white varieties. Potatoes with their skins on are a great source of fibre and vitamins. So, when having boiled or jacket potatoes, eat them with their skins or even mash them with their skins.
Milk, dairy foods and their alternatives
Milk and dairy foods such as cheese and yoghurt are a good source of proteins and calcium, which keeps our bones strong and healthy. Choose lower fat and sugar variants wherever possible.
Choose semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk as well as lower fat hard cheeses or cottages cheese and lower fat and sugar natural (not flavoured, as they contain more sugars) yoghurts. Dairy alternatives, such as soya drinks are also included in this food group. When buying alternatives try choosing the unsweetened calcium-fortified variants.
Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins
Beans, pulses, fish, eggs and meats are all good sources of proteins which are essential for our bodies to grow and repair themselves, and are a good source of a range of vitamins and minerals.
Meats also offer iron, zinc and B vitamins, and are one of the main sources of vitamin B12. Choose lean cuts of meat, and skinless poultry whenever possible, to cut down on the fats. Try and cut down on red and processed meats like bacon, ham and sausages.
Eggs and fish are also a good source of proteins, and contain many vitamins and minerals. Oily types of fish are particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Try and eat at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of an oily type fish. You can choose between fresh, frozen or canned fish, but remember that canned and smoked fish can often be high in salt.
Pulses, including beans, peas and lentils are naturally very low in fat and high in fibre, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Nuts are high in fibre, and unsalted nuts make for a good snack, but they are high in levels of fat, so eat them in moderation.
Oils and spreads
Some fat in a balanced diet is essential, but on average people consume to much saturated fats. Saturated fats can increase the amount of cholesterol in our blood, which increases our risk of developing heart diseases, so try and get most of the fats from unsaturated oils and spreads.
Remember that all fats are high in energy (calories) and should be consumed in small amounts.
Consume less sugars and salts
Regularly consuming foods and drinks that are high in sugars can increases our risk of obesity and contributes to tooth decay.
Too much salt can raise our blood pressure, which will increase your risk of getting heart disease or possibly having a stroke.
Munchies4U does not provide professional dietary advice. If you or someone you care for has special dietary requirements, medical needs or an eating disorder, please seek advice from a registered healthcare professional.
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