The secret of a healthy diet
Helpful Tools
What's the secret of a healthy diet? Eating the latest 'superfood'? Never eating chocolate ever again? No, actually there are two secrets – eating the right amount of food for how active you are and eating a range of foods to make sure you're getting a balanced diet.
But what is a balanced diet? Well, it’s all about how much of what you eat comes from each ‘food group’. Try to eat:
• plenty of fruit and vegetables
• plenty of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods – choose wholegrain varieties when you can
• some milk and dairy foods
• some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
• just a small amount of foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar
On the right is the 'eatwell plate'. You can use it to help you get the balance right. It shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food group.
Look at the eatwell plate to see how much of a whole day’s food should come from each food group and try to match this in your own diet. Try to choose options that are lower in saturated fat, salt and sugars when you can.
For more tips on eating well, visit eatwell.gov.uk
• Saturated fat – having too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases the chance of developing heart disease
• Unsaturated fat – having unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat doesn’t increase blood cholesterol levels
It’s important to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fat and try to replace them with foods that are rich in unsaturated fat such as vegetable oils (including sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil), oily fish, nuts and seeds.
Foods high in saturated fat include:
• meat pies, sausages, meat with visible white fat
• hard cheese
• butter and lard
• pastry
• cakes and biscuits
• cream, soured cream and crème fraîche
• coconut oil, coconut cream or palm oil
For tips on cutting down on saturated fat, visit eatwell.gov.uk
For a family favourite low in saturated fat, why not try this Chilli con carne recipe?
Adults – and children 11 and over – should have no more than 6g salt a day. Younger children should have even less.
With some foods, such as bread, breakfast cereals, pasta sauces and tomato ketchup, there can be a really big difference in salt content between different types and brands.
Always try to choose the ones lower in salt. Making small changes like this can make a big difference to how much salt you eat, especially if it’s a food you eat a lot of.
For more on salt, visit eatwell.gov.uk
For a family favourite low in salt why not try this Fish pie recipe?
Naturally occurring sugars in foods such as fruit and veg aren’t as bad for your teeth as added sugars. So you don’t need to avoid these, but it's a good idea to try to cut down on foods and drinks that contain lots of added sugars, such as biscuits, sweets, jams and sugary fizzy drinks.
Both adults and children in the UK eat too much sugar. And more of it comes from sugary fizzy drinks than any other type of food or drink. So cutting down on these is a good way to reduce the amount of sugar you have – and protect your teeth.
Many foods that contain added sugars can be high in calories so cutting down could help you control your weight.
For more on sugar, visit eatwell.gov.uk
Why not try a fruit kebab for a dessert? Simply chop up a selection of different types of melon, green and red grapes and strawberries into even sized pieces and then thread onto a skewer and serve.
But what is a balanced diet? Well, it’s all about how much of what you eat comes from each ‘food group’. Try to eat:
• plenty of fruit and vegetables
• plenty of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods – choose wholegrain varieties when you can
• some milk and dairy foods
• some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein
• just a small amount of foods and drinks high in fat and/or sugar
On the right is the 'eatwell plate'. You can use it to help you get the balance right. It shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food group.
Look at the eatwell plate to see how much of a whole day’s food should come from each food group and try to match this in your own diet. Try to choose options that are lower in saturated fat, salt and sugars when you can.
For more tips on eating well, visit eatwell.gov.uk
Cut down on saturated fat
To stay healthy we need some fat in our diets. There are two main types of fat:• Saturated fat – having too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases the chance of developing heart disease
• Unsaturated fat – having unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat doesn’t increase blood cholesterol levels
It’s important to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fat and try to replace them with foods that are rich in unsaturated fat such as vegetable oils (including sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil), oily fish, nuts and seeds.
Foods high in saturated fat include:
• meat pies, sausages, meat with visible white fat
• hard cheese
• butter and lard
• pastry
• cakes and biscuits
• cream, soured cream and crème fraîche
• coconut oil, coconut cream or palm oil
For tips on cutting down on saturated fat, visit eatwell.gov.uk
For a family favourite low in saturated fat, why not try this Chilli con carne recipe?
Cut down on salt
Every day 26 million adults in the UK eat too much salt. You could be eating too much without realising because about 75% of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure, which triples your risk of developing heart disease or stroke.Adults – and children 11 and over – should have no more than 6g salt a day. Younger children should have even less.
With some foods, such as bread, breakfast cereals, pasta sauces and tomato ketchup, there can be a really big difference in salt content between different types and brands.
Always try to choose the ones lower in salt. Making small changes like this can make a big difference to how much salt you eat, especially if it’s a food you eat a lot of.
For more on salt, visit eatwell.gov.uk
For a family favourite low in salt why not try this Fish pie recipe?
Cut down on sugars
Have you got a sweet tooth? Lots of us have! And there's certainly no need to cut sugars out of your diet altogether – in fact that would be more or less impossible, as sugars occur naturally in many foods. But did you know that there are different types of sugars?Naturally occurring sugars in foods such as fruit and veg aren’t as bad for your teeth as added sugars. So you don’t need to avoid these, but it's a good idea to try to cut down on foods and drinks that contain lots of added sugars, such as biscuits, sweets, jams and sugary fizzy drinks.
Both adults and children in the UK eat too much sugar. And more of it comes from sugary fizzy drinks than any other type of food or drink. So cutting down on these is a good way to reduce the amount of sugar you have – and protect your teeth.
Many foods that contain added sugars can be high in calories so cutting down could help you control your weight.
For more on sugar, visit eatwell.gov.uk
Why not try a fruit kebab for a dessert? Simply chop up a selection of different types of melon, green and red grapes and strawberries into even sized pieces and then thread onto a skewer and serve.
Comments
You need to be logged in to leave a comment
Register