The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating provides advice based on the latest scientific evidence to help us make healthier food choices. The guidelines aim to promote health and wellbeing, reduce the risk of diet-related conditions, including high blood pressure, obesity and high cholesterol and reduce the risk of chronic diseases, including some forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Despite this, the guidelines are often overlooked, most of us are familiar with the food pyramid but does your diet look like the pyramid and did you know that the guidelines now fall into a pie chart?
The guidelines recommend eating a variety of food from the five food groups:
- Vegetables and legumes/beans: a rainbow of different coloured vegetables and legumes should be included in the diet, as they provide essential nutrients, fibre and immune system supporting phytochemicals.
- Fruit: fresh or canned fruit can be eaten as a snack or part of a meal to provide similar benefits as our vegetables.
- Wholegrains and cereals: Whole grains and cereals provide carbohydrates, fibre, and essential nutrients such as B vitamins and iron
- Lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts, and seeds: These foods provide protein, iron, and other essential nutrients.
- Milk, yogurt, cheese, and alternatives: These dairy products provide calcium, protein, and other essential nutrients.
The guidelines also provide advice on how many serves of these food groups you need to consume each day based on your gender, age, body size and physical activity level. It has been found that Australians need to eat more wholegrain cereals, reduced fat milk, yoghurt and cheese, vegetables and legumes/beans, fruits, fish, seafood, poultry, nuts and seeds. While we need to eat less starchy vegetables (potato, sweet potato, corn, taro), refined cereals, full fat dairy and food and drinks high in saturated fat, added sugar, salt or alcohol.
To follow the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, you can:
- Aim to eat a variety of foods from each of the five food groups every day, in the recommended amounts.
- Make sure that most of the food you eat comes from the first three food groups (vegetables and legumes/beans, fruit, and grain foods).
- Choose foods that are high in nutrients and low in saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and salt.
- Limit your intake of alcohol and high-calorie drinks such as soft drinks, sports drinks, and energy drinks.
- Be physically active and maintain a healthy weight.
- Seek advice from a healthcare professional or a qualified Dietitian if you have any questions or concerns about your diet.
By following the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, you can ensure that your diet is healthy and balanced, which can help you support good health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
TRY THIS WEEK’S RECIPE: Thai-Style Chopped Salad with Sriracha Tofu
Written by An Accredited Practising Dietitian, Accredited Nutritionist from Healthy Lifestyles Australia
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