Healthy eating and diet

Australian dietary guidelines

Do you know what foods are best to put on your plate? Or how much you should eat and how often?

The Australian dietary guidelines provide up-to-date advice about the types and recommended number of serves of the different foods that we need to eat for good nutrition and health. These are shown in the Australian guide to healthy eating.

The guidelines are developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council, working with independent experts in nutrition. They are based on the best available science about the types and amounts of foods and the dietary patterns that are thought to promote health and wellbeing, and reduce your risk of diet-related conditions and chronic disease.

Eat a variety of foods

Healthy eating means eating a wide variety of foods from each of the 5 major food groups, in the amounts recommended.

Eating a variety of foods from the 5 major food groups provides a range of nutrients to the body, promotes good health and can help reduce the risk of disease - as well as keeping your diet interesting with different flavours and textures.

Many of the foods that often feature regularly in modern diets do not form part of the 5 food groups. These foods, sometimes referred to as 'junk' foods, 'discretionary choices' or 'occasional foods' can be enjoyed sometimes, but should not feature regularly in a healthy diet.

Fats and oils are high in kilojoules (energy) but necessary for a healthy diet in small amounts.

No matter where you're starting, it's easy to make little changes to bring your eating closer in line with the Australian dietary guidelines. Just focus on eating foods from the 5 major food groups and reducing your intake of occasional foods.

5 major food groups

The Australian guide to healthy eating groups the foods that should make up our daily diets into 5 major food groups.

The 5 food groups are:

• vegetables and legumes or beans
• fruit
• lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, legumes or beans
• grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain or high cereal fibre varieties
• milk, yoghurt, cheese or alternatives, mostly reduced fat.

Foods are grouped together because they provide similar amounts of key nutrients. For example, key nutrients of the milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives group include calcium and protein, while the fruit group is a good source of vitamins, especially vitamin C.

Eating a varied, well-balanced diet means eating a variety of foods from each of the 5 food groups daily, in the recommended amounts. Because different foods provide different types and amounts of key nutrients, it is important to choose a variety of foods from within each food group. As a bonus, choosing a variety of foods will help to make your meals interesting, so that you don't get bored with your diet.

Occasional foods

Some foods do not fit into the 5 food groups because they are not necessary for a healthy diet. These foods are called 'discretionary choices' (sometimes referred to as 'junk foods') and they should only be eaten occasionally.

They tend to be too high in saturated fat, added sugars, added salt or alcohol, and have low levels of important nutrients like fibre.

These foods and drinks can also be too high in kilojoules (energy). Regularly eating more kilojoules than your body needs will lead to weight gain.

Examples of 'discretionary choices' or occasional foods are:

• sweet biscuits, cakes, desserts and pastries
• processed meats and sausages, savoury pastries and pies, with a high fat or salt content
• takeaway foods such as hot chips, hamburgers and pizza
• sweetened condensed milk
• alcoholic drinks
• ice cream and other ice confections
• confectionary and chocolate
• commercially fried foods
• potato chips, crisps and other fatty and/or salty snack foods including some savoury biscuits
• cream, butter and spreads which are high in saturated fats
• sugar-sweetened soft drinks and cordials, sports and energy drinks.

It's okay to have some of these foods now and then as an extra treat. But if these foods regularly replace more nutritious and healthier foods in your diet, your risk of developing obesity and chronic disease, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer, increases.

Restaurant meals and takeaway foods

Restaurant meals and takeaway foods are often high in saturated fat, added salt, added sugars, and kilojoules.

Think about how often you consume food and drinks prepared outside the home. If you’re doing this regularly, consider cutting back and focusing more on the 5 major food groups. That doesn’t mean you have to stop completely.

Suggestions for reducing saturated fat in takeaway food options include:

• Try ordering a takeaway meal without the fries.
• Choose bread-based options like wraps, kebabs, souvlaki or hamburgers.
• Avoid deep fried and pastry options.
• Include extra vegetables and salad.
• Choose smaller portions or share with someone else and add a green salad to reduce the kilojoules of the meal.
• Limit high fat, high salt sauces and toppings like cheese, fatty meats and mayonnaise – remember, you can ask for less.
• Choose tomato-based pasta sauces, rather than cream-based sauces.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Don’t upsize unless it’s with a side salad.

Fast foods that have relatively low levels of saturated fat and added salt include:

• pizzas with less cheese and meat
• grilled chicken burgers or wraps
• grilled, lean meat hamburgers, with no cheese or bacon additions
• grilled fish burgers.

High sugar foods

Foods and drinks like soft drinks, cordials, biscuits, cakes and confectionary are high in added sugars and high in kilojoules. Sugar itself does not lead to diabetes. But added sugars can cause weight gain and being overweight increases a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes.

Sugar-sweetened drinks are the largest source of sugars in the diets of Australians. There is strong evidence of an association between increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and the development of childhood obesity and tooth decay. That’s why eating foods and drinks with a high sugar content should be limited.

Sugar-free versions are okay to drink sometimes, but sugar-free fizzy drinks are still acidic, which can have a negative effect on bone and dental health. Water is the healthiest drink – try adding a slice of lemon, lime or orange for flavour.

Drink alcohol in moderation

Alcoholic drinks are ‘occasional foods’ according to the Australian guide to healthy eating. Alcohol is high in energy (kilojoules). If you choose to drink alcohol, only drink it in moderation.

To reduce the risk of harm from alcohol-related disease or injury, healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks a week and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.

The less you drink, the lower your risk of harm from alcohol.

One standard drink is 375 ml mid-strength beer, 100 ml wine or 30 ml spirits. If you drink more than this, consider reducing the amount. You might go about this by increasing the number of days in the week where you don’t drink alcohol, or alternating your alcoholic drinks with water.

Children and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not drink alcohol.

High-salt foods

Too much salt in the diet has been associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, which is a known risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

Eating less than 5 g of salt per day (less than a teaspoon a day) is recommended for adults with normal blood pressure. Many Australians consume double this amount each day.

The majority of our salt intake comes from packaged and processed foods we eat every day, like bread, processed meats and soups. Cutting back on takeaway foods will help reduce your salt intake.

Healthy fats

The Australian dietary guidelines include a small allowance for healthy fats each day (around one to 2 tablespoons for adults and less for children).

Consuming unsaturated (healthy) fats in small amounts is an important part of a healthy diet. It helps with:

• the absorption of vitamins (A, D, E and K)
• reducing your risk of heart disease
• lowering your cholesterol levels - if the healthy fats replace saturated (bad) fats in your diet.

There are 2 main types of unsaturated fats:

• monounsaturated fats - found in olive and canola oil, avocados, cashews and almonds
• polyunsaturated fats, such as:
  • omega-3 fats - found in oily fish
  • omega-6 fats - found in safflower and soybean oil, and Brazil nuts.

The best way to include healthy fats in your diet is to replace saturated fat that you may currently be eating (such as butter and cream) with a healthier, unsaturated fat option (such as olive oil or a polyunsaturated margarine).

Learn more about fats and oils.

How much do I need from each food group each day?

How much you need from each food group each day depends on your age, gender and activity levels. The Australian guide to healthy eating outlines how many serves you and your family need each day, and standard serve sizes for foods and drinks.

Daily serves needed by children and teenagers

*An extra serve (7-10 g) per day of unsaturated spreads or oils or nut or seed paste is included as whole nuts and seeds are not recommended for children of this age due to potential choking risks.

Daily serves needed by women

Daily serves needed by men

What counts as a daily food serve?

Standard serve sizes vary according to the type of food and the food group.

Vegetables - daily serve

One standard serve of vegetables is about 75 g (100 to 350 kJ) or:

• ½ cup cooked vegetables (for example, broccoli, carrots, spinach or pumpkin)
• ½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils (preferably with no added salt)
• 1 cup of green leafy or raw salad vegetables
• ½ cup sweet corn
• ½ medium potato or other starchy vegetables (such as sweet potato)
• 1 medium tomato.

Fruit - daily serve

One standard serve of fruit is about 150 g (350 kJ) or:

• 1 medium piece (for example, apple, banana, orange, pear)
• 2 small pieces (for example, apricots, plums, kiwi fruit)
• 1 cup diced or canned fruit (no added sugar).

Only occasionally, one standard serve of fruit can be:

• 125 ml (½ cup) fruit juice (no added sugar)
• 30 g dried fruit (for example, 4 dried apricot halves, 1½ tablespoons of sultanas).

Grain (cereal) foods - daily serve

Choose mostly wholegrain or high cereal fibre varieties of grain foods.

One standard serve is (500 kJ) or:

• 1 slice (40 g) of bread
• ½ medium roll (40 g) or flatbread
• ½ cup (75-120 g) cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, buckwheat, semolina, polenta, bulgur or quinoa
• ½ cup (120 g) cooked porridge
• ¼ cup (30 g) muesli
• 2/3 cup (30 g) breakfast cereal flakes
• 3 (35g) crispbreads
• 1 crumpet (60 g)
• 1 small (35 g) English muffin or scone.

Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans - daily serve

One standard serve is (500 to 600 kJ):

• 65 g cooked lean red meat such as beef, lamb, veal, pork, goat or kangaroo (about 90 to 100 g raw)
• 80 g cooked poultry such as chicken or turkey (100 g raw)
• 100 g cooked fish fillet (about 115 g raw weight) or 1 small can of fish
• 2 large (120 g) eggs
• 1 cup (150 g) cooked dried or canned legumes/beans such as lentils, chick peas or split peas (preferably with no added salt)
• 170 g tofu
• 30 g nuts, seeds, peanut or almond butter or tahini or other nut or seed paste (no added salt)*.

*Only to be used occasionally as a substitute for other foods in the group.

Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives - daily serve

Milk, yoghurt and cheese should mostly be reduced fat.

One standard serve (500-600 kJ) is:

• 1 cup (250 ml) fresh, UHT long-life, reconstituted powdered milk or buttermilk
• ½ cup (120 ml) evaporated milk
• 2 slices (40 g) or one 4 x 3 x 2 cm cube (40 g) of hard cheese, such as cheddar
• ½ cup (120 g) ricotta cheese
• ¾ cup (200 g) yoghurt
• 1 cup (250 ml) soy, rice or other cereal drink with at least 100 mg of added calcium per 100 ml.

If you do not eat any foods from this group, the following foods contain about the same amount of calcium as a serve of milk, yoghurt, cheese or alternatives:

• 100 g almonds with skin
• 60 g sardines, canned, in water
• ½ cup (100 g) canned pink salmon with bones
• 100 g firm tofu (check the label - calcium levels vary).

Be mindful that some of these contain more kilojoules (energy), especially the nuts.

Change the way you think about food

There are lots of myths about healthy food. Don’t make food choices based on false beliefs. Some things to try include:

• Don’t think that your diet must be ‘all or nothing’. Eating well doesn’t mean you must worry about eating healthily all the time. A good diet allows for treats occasionally.
• Compare the prices of junk foods against the price of healthier food options to see that ‘healthy’ doesn’t have to mean ‘expensive’.
• Experiment with different foods and recipes. A meal cooked with fresh ingredients is better than a limp burger or soggy chips.
• Try different ‘fast’ options like whole-wheat breakfast cereal, muesli, wholemeal bread, wholegrain muffins, fruit, yoghurt or pasta.
• When eating out, look for kilojoule labelling on menus and check before you choose. A single energy-dense meal may contain most of an adult’s daily kilojoule intake, and drinks can be high in kilojoules too.
• Don’t give up your favourite meals entirely. Try thinking of new ways to create healthy meals – for example, you could make recipes lower in fat by changing the cooking method – grill, stir-fry, bake, boil or microwave, instead of deep frying.
• Reduce the size of your meal or food instead of giving it up entirely. More doesn’t always mean better.
• If you’re worried about missing out on socialising, instead of meeting friends for food, perhaps go for a walk instead. Or you could suggest a food outlet that serves healthier foods, such as wholemeal rolls with vegetable fillings, or sushi.

Get organised with food planning

Planning ahead can make changing your dietary habits a whole lot easier:

• Make a shopping list before you shop and plan what meals you’re going to eat and when.
• Keep a filled fruit bowl at home for fast, low-kilojoule snacks.
• Vary your meals. You may get bored and lose motivation if you don’t try different ingredients and recipes.
• Search the internet to find interesting and easy recipes and cooking tips – have a read of these tasty recipes.
• Cook in bulk to save time – for example, soups, stews, casseroles and bolognese sauce are all easy to cook a lot of, and then freeze in portions for later use.
• Eat breakfast every day so you’re less likely to snack on occasional foods at morning tea. A wholemeal or wholegrain breakfast cereal that is low in sugar, served with low-fat milk, can provide plenty of vitamins, minerals and fibre. Other fast and healthy options include yoghurt or wholemeal toast.

Stock your food cupboard and fridge

Stock your food cupboard and fridge with ingredients that are quick to prepare and easy to cook.

Meal suggestions include:

• Soups – easy to make and nutritious, especially if you add lots of vegetables, beans or lentils. You can use canned tomatoes and ready-made (low salt) stock as a base and add your own herbs, spices and leftovers.
• Pasta – quick and easy to prepare. Keep tins of tomatoes in your cupboard and add your own variations and flavours.
• Rice – try making fried rice or risotto, or mix cooked rice with leftover vegetables and meat.
• Beans and lentils – canned varieties can make a quick and nutritious addition to soups and stews. Lentils and beans can be used as a main meal with vegetables added.
• Vegetables and fruit – make vegetable curries, stir-fries and vegetable patties and soups. Canned and frozen vegetables can easily be added to last minute meals. Fruit is good for a quick nutritious snack.
• Meat and fish – tinned tuna is a great cupboard stand-by. Shop for cheap cuts of meat for slow cooking in stews and casseroles.
• Condiments – add flavour and interest to your cooking. Keep a selection of dried herbs, spices, curry powder, vinegars, in your cupboard. Tomato sauce, soy sauce and stock cubes also provide great flavour, but they are high in salt – use them only in small amounts.

Healthy eating on a budget

Healthy doesn’t mean expensive. Here are some ways to save money on food:

• Cook extra for the evening meal so you can use the leftovers for a quick meal the following night or for lunch.
• Cook double the amount then freeze what is left over in meal-size portions.
• Shop at the local markets close to closing time for discounted fruit, vegetable and meat bargains.
• Buy in bulk (it’s usually cheaper) and freeze in smaller portion sizes to use as required.
• Use cheaper cuts of meat for curries and casseroles for long slow cooking, then add extra vegetables and beans to make the meal go further.
• One-pot dishes where you throw everything in together save energy, time, money and washing up.
• Watch out for supermarket specials of staples (rice, pasta, pasta sauces, bread and tinned vegetables) and stock up on them when they are cheap. Bread can be frozen for at least two months, and items such as pasta and rice have a long shelf life.
• Limit takeaway foods – they can be expensive, high in fat, high in salt, low in nutrition, and leave you hungry again a few hours after you eat them.
• Buy fresh produce in season – it’s often cheaper as it’s grown locally and fresher.

Where to get help

• Your GP (doctor)
• Dietitians Australia Tel. 1800 812 942
• Nutrition Australia
• Community health centre
• Maternal and child health nurse
• Australian guide to healthy eating