Eating a healthier balanced diet

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best.

This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

People with special dietary needs or a medical condition should ask their doctor or a registered dietitian for advice.

Food groups in your diet

The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:

• eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day (see 5 A Day)
• base meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
• have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
• eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
• choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
• drink plenty of fluids (at least 6 to 8 glasses a day)

If you're having foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar, have these less often and in small amounts.

Try to choose a variety of different foods from the 5 main food groups to get a wide range of nutrients.

Most people in the UK eat and drink too many calories, too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fish or fibre.

The Eatwell Guide does not apply to children under the age of 2 because they have different nutritional needs.

After the age of 2 years, children should move to eating the same foods as the rest of the family in the proportions shown in the Eatwell Guide.

Taken from Eat Well - how to eat a balanced diet