Base your meals on starchy carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over one third of the food you eat. They include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.
Choose
wholegrain varieties (or eat potatoes with their skins on) when you
can: they contain more fibre, and can help you feel full for longer.
Most
of us should eat more starchy foods: try to include at least one
starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are
fattening, but gram for gram the carbohydrate they contain provides
fewer than half the calories of fat.
Keep an eye on the fats you
add when you're cooking or serving these types of foods because that's
what increases the calorie content, for example oil on chips, butter on
bread and creamy sauces on pasta.
Eat lots of fruit and vegetables
It's recommended that we eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. It's easier than it sounds.
Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit?
Unsweetened
100% fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies can only ever count as a
maximum of one portion of your 5 A DAY. For example, if you have two
glasses of fruit juice and a smoothie in one day, that still only counts
as one portion.
Eat more fish – including a portion of oily fish
Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. Aim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including at least one portion of oily fish. Oily fish contains omega-3 fats, which may help to prevent heart disease.
Oily fish include:
- salmon
- mackerel
- trout
- herring
- fresh tuna
- sardines
- pilchards.
Non-oily fish include:
- haddock
- plaice
- coley
- cod
- canned tuna
- skate
- hake
If you regularly eat a lot of fish, try to choose as wide a variety as possible.
You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned: but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.
Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
Saturated fat in our diet
We
all need some fat in our diet, but it's important to pay attention to
the amount and type of fat we're eating. There are two main types of
fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the
amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of
developing heart disease.
The average man should have no more than
30g saturated fat a day. The average woman should have no more than 20g
saturated fat a day, and children should have less than adults.
Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as:
- hard cheese
- cakes
- biscuits
- sausages
- cream
- butter
- lard
- pies.
Try to cut down on your saturated fat intake, and choose foods that contain unsaturated fats instead, such as vegetable oils, oily fish and avocados.
For
a healthier choice, use just a small amount of vegetable oil or
reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee. When you're having
meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.
Sugar in our diet
Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.
Sugary
foods and drinks, including alcoholic drinks, are often high in energy
(measured in kilojoules or calories), and if eaten too often,
can contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay,
especially if eaten between meals.
Many packaged foods and drinks
contain surprisingly high amounts of free sugars. Free sugars are any
sugars added to foods or drinks, or found naturally in honey, syrups and
unsweetened fruit juices.
Cut down on:
- sugary fizzy drinks
- alcoholic drinks
- sugary breakfast cereals
- cakes
- biscuits
- pastries
These
foods contain added sugars: this is the kind of sugar we should be
cutting down on, rather than sugars that are found in things such as
fruit and milk.
Food labels
can help: use them to check how much sugar foods contain. More than
22.5g of total sugars per 100g means that the food is high in sugar,
while 5g of total sugars or less per 100g means that the food is low in
sugar.
Get tips on cutting down sugar in your diet.
Eat less salt – no more than 6g a day for adults
Eating
too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood
pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.
Even if you don’t add salt
to your food, you may still be eating too much. About three-quarters of
the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast
cereals, soups, breads and sauces.
Use food labels to help you
cut down. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means the food is high in
salt. Adults and children over 11 should eat no more than 6g of salt
(about a teaspoonful) a day. Younger children should have even less.
Get tips on cutting down on salt in your diet.
Get active and be a healthy weight
Eating
a healthy, balanced diet plays an essential role in maintaining a
healthy weight, which is an important part of overall good health.
Being
overweight or obese can lead to health conditions such as type 2
diabetes, certain cancers, heart disease and stroke. Being underweight
could also affect your health.
Check whether you're a healthy weight by using our Healthy weight calculator.
Most adults need to lose weight,
and need to eat fewer calories to do this. If you're trying to lose
weight, aim to eat less and be more active. Eating a healthy, balanced
diet will help: aim to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fat
and sugar, and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables.
Don't forget that alcohol is also high in calories, so cutting down can help you to control your weight.
Physical
activity can help you to maintain weight loss or be a healthy weight.
Being active doesn't have to mean hours at the gym: you can find ways to
fit more activity into your daily life. For example, try getting off
the bus one stop early on the way home from work, and walking.
Being physically active may help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. For more ideas, see Get active your way.
After
getting active, remember not to reward yourself with a treat that is
high in energy. If you feel hungry after activity, choose foods or
drinks that are lower in calories, but still filling.
If you're underweight, see our page on underweight adults. If you're worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietitian for advice.
Don't get thirsty
We need to drink plenty of fluids to stop us getting dehydrated – the government recommends 6-8 glasses every day.
This
is in addition to the fluid we get from the food we eat. All
non-alcoholic drinks count, but water and lower-fat milk are healthier
choices.
Try to avoid sugary soft and fizzy drinks that are high in added sugars and calories, and are also bad for teeth.
Even
unsweetened fruit juice and smoothies are high in free sugar. Your
combined total of drinks from fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies
should not be more than 150ml a day – which is a small glass.
For example, if you have 150ml of orange juice and 150ml smoothie in one day, you'll have exceeded the recommendation by 150ml.
When the weather is warm, or when we get active, we may need more fluids.
Don't skip breakfast
Some
people skip breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight.
In fact, research shows that people who regularly eat breakfast are
less likely to be overweight.
Breakfast has also been shown to
have positive effects on children’s mental performance and increase
their concentration throughout the morning.
A healthy breakfast is an important part of a balanced diet, and provides some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.
A wholegrain, lower-sugar cereal with fruit sliced over the top is a tasty and nutritious breakfast.
