Eat well

Maintaining a balanced diet is an important part of keeping healthy. Not only does it reduce your risk of serious illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer, it also helps you to feel your best.

What is a balanced diet?

The Eatwell Guide outlines the recommendations for eating a healthy, balanced diet. The guide shows the different types of foods and drinks you should consume – and in what proportions – every day or over a week.

You should aim to eat a variety of different foods from each of the groups to help you get the wide range of nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. It is recommended that you try to:

Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day – a portion is 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables, 30g of dried fruit or 150ml glass of fruit juice or smoothie.
Base meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta – choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties as they contain more fibre and usually more vitamins and minerals than white varieties.
Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) – choose semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk, as well as lower fat hard cheeses or cottage cheese, and lower fat, lower sugar yoghurt.
Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein – choose lean cuts of meat to cut down on fat and try to eat less red and processed meat like bacon, ham and sausages.
Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts – on average, people in the UK eat too much saturated fat. Swapping to unsaturated fats can help lower cholesterol.
Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day – all non-alcoholic drinks count, but water, lower fat milk and lower sugar drinks, including tea and coffee, are healthier choices.

Find out more about how to use the Eat Well Guide to achieve a healthy diet.

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

Maintaining a healthy weight

On average, adults need around 2000 kcal a day for women and 2500 kcal a day for men to maintain current body weight.

Reducing our sugar intake can support with maintaining a healthy weight. It is estimated that children are having two times more sugar than is recommended, with half of it coming from snacks and sugary drinks.

NHS recommendations are that a maximum daily amount of sugar for someone over the age of 11 is 30g per day, which is approximately 7 teaspoons. For children aged 7-10, it is 24g (6 teaspoons) and 19g (5 teaspoons) for those aged 4-6.

The NHS sugar calculator can help you work out how much sugar you and your family consume each day.

There are healthier food swaps that you can make when it comes to your main meals and snacks to help you reduce your calorie intake. The NHS food scanner app makes finding alternatives much easier during your food shop.

To find out whether your weight is within a normal range, you can use the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator.

The NHS weight loss app is also freely available if you require some additional support.

Northern Ireland Public Health Dietitians can also provide valuable information and advice – watch their You Tube video on how to gain a healthier weight.

Understanding food labels

Nutrition information labels can help you choose between products based on their nutritional content. Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging.

These labels include information on energy in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal), usually referred to as calories. They also include information on fat, saturates (saturated fat), carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.

If the nutrition labels use colour coding, you’ll often find a mixture of red, amber and green. So, when you’re choosing between similar products, try to go for more greens and ambers, and fewer reds, if you want to make a healthier choice.

Plan ahead

Planning ahead your meals and snacks makes maintaining a healthy, balanced diet much easier and also helps you to budget more effectively.

Set aside time each week to make a meal plan. Keep to it each week. Once you get into the habit of planning, you will need less time. This will save you time in the supermarket and probably reduce food waste too.
Stick to your list. Supermarkets use clever marketing techniques to entice you to buy certain products that you may not have planned to buy.
Start the day with a healthy breakfast that high in fibre and low in fat, sugar and salt. This will leave you feeling fuller for longer and gives you the energy you need to get going.
If fresh fruits and veggies are too costly, remember that canned and frozen fruits and vegetables provide the same nutrients as fresh.
Cook extra and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. Pies, curries, stews and casseroles all freeze well.

There are lots of free recipe resources to help you create healthy, tasty dishes.

How do I know if I can trust information online?

Most people now use social media to access a lot of the information they need. This comes with particular risk when it comes to diets. When researching nutritional content online:

Look for registered dietitians or use trusted websites.
Fact-check the information, including any studies referenced by influencers.
Spot keywords such as ‘quick-fix’, ‘cleanse’, ‘detox’.

These sources have a wealth of reliable content to support you in maintaining a healthy, balanced diet.