A healthy balance
As healthy lifestyles come under the spotlight, so too does the need for a balanced diet. The Food Standards Agency states that food must have nutritional values on the packaging. And some supermarket own products contain “easy reference” information about guideline daily amounts of sugar, salt, fat and calories to make it easier to choose healthy options. But with all these different things to look out for; polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, cholesterol, salt, sugar…surely there’s a simpler way to stay healthy.
With so much information being thrown at us it’s hard to pick out the bits we really need to know. So here’s our guide to getting a healthy balance – all the bits you need to know and none of the bits you don’t!
No single food contains all the nutrients our bodies need, so it’s important to eat a varied diet. There are five main food groups and by eating a range of food from each of the groups we can get all the nutrients we need to stay healthy and active.
Fruit and veg
This is the food group that most people rave about. Fruit and veg should make up about one third of your diet and it’s recommended that you eat five portions a day. The size of a ‘portion’ varies depending on what it is that you’re eating, but a good rule is that a portion of fruit or veg will weigh about 80g. It includes all fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit and veg and also juice. They provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals and fibre. However, to eat 5-a-day, you need to eat portions of 5 different fruit and vegetables. Fruit juice will only count as 1 portion no matter how many different types of fruit juice you drink in a day.
Bread, cereal, rice, pasta and potatoes
Starchy foods like this should make up the main part of most meals. They are the main source of energy. Wholemeal or brown varieties are also high in fibre which will keep your bowels healthy. They are usually not high in calories so long as you don’t add too much sugar or fat.
Milk and dairy foods
These are good sources of protein, vitamins and minerals and are the richest source of calcium in our diet. This helps strengthen your bones and teeth and ensures your muscles and nerves function properly. The best choice would be lower fat options.
Fatty and sugary foods
Fatty foods give us loads of energy. You’ll need to do a lot of exercise to work off a fatty food. Saturated and hydrogenated or trans fats are bad for our health and should be avoided as much as possible as they contribute to heart disease. They are usually found in processed food products such as cakes, biscuits and pastry foods like sausage rolls. But don’t avoid fat altogether. Good fats can be found in nuts, seeds, avocados and fish. These fats are needed for transporting vitamins around the body, cell membranes and making hormones. Most of us eat much more from this group than we should.
Meat, poultry, fish, soya, eggs, nuts and pulses, quorn
These are all sources of protein which helps the body to rebuild itself (repairing hair, nails etc)
So, they are the main food groups which we should be including on our plates to make sure we’re getting a balanced diet.
Remember:
Eating a healthy diet is all about getting the balance right.
You don’t have to achieve this balance in one meal. You could apply it to the food eaten in a day or over a week.
It’s not so much about healthy and unhealthy foods, but about healthy or unhealthy diets.
Lots of dishes contain a variety of the main food groups. For example; a pizza – has a starchy base, with vegetables, meat and cheese on top.