Eating a healthy, balanced dietis an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best.
The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:
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 five main food groups. Mostpeople in the UKeat and drink too many calories, too much fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fishor fibre.
Read our page on understanding calories.
Fruit and vegetables area vital source of vitamins and minerals and should make up just over a third of the food we eat each day. It's advised that we eat at leastfive portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.
There's evidence that people whoeat at leastfive portions a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
Eatingfive portions is not as hard as it sounds. Just one apple, banana, pear or similar-sized fruit is one portion (80g). A slice of pineapple or melon is one portion. Three heaped tablespoons of vegetables is another portion.
Having a sliced bananawith your morning cereal is a quick way to get one portion.Swap your mid-morning biscuit for a tangerine, and add a side salad to your lunch.Have a portion of vegetableswith dinner, and snack on fresh fruitwith natural plain yoghurt in the eveningto reach your five a day.
For more tips on getting your five portions of fruit and veg, check outour 5 A DAYpage.
Starchy foods should make upjust overone third of everything we eat. This means we should base our meals on these foods.
Potatoes with the skins onarea great source of fibre and vitamins. For example, when having boiled potatoes or a jacket potato, eat the skin too.
Tryto choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta and brown, wholemeal or higher fibre whitebread. They contain more fibre, and usually more vitamins and minerals than white varieties.
Learn more from ourstarchy foodspage.
Milk and dairy foods such as cheese and yoghurt are good sources of protein.Theyalso contain calcium, which helps keep your bones healthy.
To enjoy the health benefits of dairy without eating too much fat, use semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmedmilk, as well as lower-fat hard cheeses or cottage cheese, and lower-fat, lower-sugar yoghurt. Unsweetened, calcium-fortified dairy alternatives like soya milks, soya yoghurts and soya cheeses also count as part of this food group and can make good alternatives to dairy products.
Learn more aboutmilk and dairy foods.
These foods are all good sources of protein, which is essential for the body to grow and repair itself. They are also good sources of a range of vitamins and minerals.
Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc and Bvitamins. It is also one of the main sources of vitamin B12. Try to eat lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat. Always cook meat thoroughly. Learn more by reading our page on meat.
Fishis another important source of protein, and contains many vitamins and minerals. Oily fish is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Aim for at least two portions of fish a week, includingone portion of oily fish. You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned, but remember that cannedand smoked fish can oftenbe high in salt.
Eggs and pulses(including beans, nuts and seeds) are also great sources of protein. Nuts are high in fibre and agood alternative to snacks high in saturated fat, but they do still contain high levels of fat, so eat them in moderation. Learn more from our pages oneggs and pulses and beans.
Some fat in the diet is essential, but should be limited to small amounts. It's important to get most of our fat from unsaturated oils and spreads. Swapping to unsaturated fats can help to lower cholesterol.
Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease, while regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.
Find out moreabout why we need to cut down on saturated fat and sugarin our diet, which foodsthey occur inand how we can make healthier choicesin Eight tips for healthy eating.
Most adults in England are overweight or obese. Check whether you're a healthy weight using the BMI calculator.
You can use the panelbelow to download the NHS weight loss guide, our free 12-week diet and exercise plan.
The plan, which has been downloaded more than 2 million times, is designed to help you lose weight safely and keep it off.
Read the original:
How to have a balanced diet - Healthy living - NHS Choices
