5 tips for eating well
These practical tips can help you make healthier choices. The two keys to a healthy diet are 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.
A healthy balanced diet contains a variety of types of food, including lots of fruit, vegetables and starchy foods such as wholemeal bread and wholegrain cereals; some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils; and some milk and dairy foods.
1. Base your meals on starchy foods
Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are a really important part of a healthy diet. Try to choose wholegrain varieties of starchy foods whenever you can.
Starchy foods should make up about a third of the food we eat. They are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. As well as starch, these foods contain fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins.
Most of us should eat more starchy foods - try to include at least one starchy food with each of your main meals. So you could start the day with a wholegrain breakfast cereal, have a sandwich for lunch, and potatoes, pasta or rice with your evening meal.
Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram they contain less than half the calories of fat. You just need to watch the fats you add when cooking and serving these foods, because this is what increases the calorie content.
2. Eat lots of fruit and veg
Most people know we should be eating more fruit and veg. But most of us still aren't eating enough.
Try to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. It might be easier than you think.
You could try adding up your portions during the day.
For example, you could have:
a glass of juice and a sliced banana with your cereal at breakfast
a side salad at lunch
a pear as an afternoon snack
a portion of peas or other vegetables with your evening meal
You can choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced, but remember potatoes count as a starchy food, not as portions of fruit and veg.
3. Eat more fish
Most of us should be eating more fish - including a portion of oily fish each week. It's an excellent source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals.
Aim for at least two portions of fish a week, including a portion of oily fish. You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned - but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.
What are oily fish?
Some fish are called oily fish because they are rich in certain types of fats, called omega 3 fatty acids, which can help keep our hearts healthy.
How much oily fish?
Although most of us should be eating more oily fish, women who might have a baby one day should have a maximum of 2 portions of oily fish a week (a portion is about 140g). And 4 is the recommended maximum number of portions for other adults.
Examples of oily fish
Salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, fresh tuna, sardines, pilchards, eel
Examples of white or non-oily fish
Cod, haddock, plaice, coley, tinned tuna, skate, hake
Shark, swordfish and marlin
Don't have more than one portion a week of these types of fish. This is because of the high levels of mercury in these fish.
Anyone who regularly eats a lot of fish should try and choose as wide a variety as possible.
For more information on fish and for advice - including recommended limits - for children, women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying for a baby, see the link below.
4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
To stay healthy we need some fat in our diets. What is important is the kind of fat we are eating. There are two main types of fat:
saturated fat - having too much 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 lowers blood cholesterol
Try to cut down on food that is high in saturated fat and have foods that are rich in unsaturated fat instead, such as vegetable oils (including sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil), oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds.
5. Try to eat less salt - no more than 6g a day
Lots of people think they don't eat much salt, especially if they don't add it to their food. But don't be so sure!
Every day in the UK, 85% men and 69% women eat too much salt. Adults - and children over 11 - should have no more than 6g salt a day. Younger children should have even less.
Three-quarters (75%) of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups, sauces and ready meals. So you could easily be eating too much salt without realising it.
Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. And people with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than people with normal blood pressure.
