tips for eating well

Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are a really important part of a healthy diet. Try to choose wholegrain varieties 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.

Why choose wholegrain?

Wholegrain foods contain more fibre and other nutrients than white or refined starchy foods.

We also digest wholegrain foods more slowly so they can help make us feel full for longer.

Wholegrain foods include:

•  wholemeal and wholegrain bread, pitta and chapatti

•  wholewheat pasta and brown rice

•  wholegrain breakfast cereals

Most people know we should be eating more fruit and veg. But most of us still aren’t eating enough.

What is a portion?

One portion of fruit and veg = 80g, or any of these:

•  1 apple, banana, pear, orange or other similar size fruit

•  2 plums or similar size fruit

•  ½ a grapefruit or avocado

•  1 slice of large fruit, such as melon or pineapple

•  3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)

•  3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad (fresh or tinned in fruit juice) or stewed fruit

•  1 heaped tablespoon of dried fruit (such as raisins and apricots)

•  a dessert bowl of salad

•  a glass (150ml) of fruit juice (counts as a maximum of one portion a day)

•  1 cupful of grapes, cherries or berries

Try to eat at least five 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

Choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced, but remember potatoes count as a starchy food, not as portions of fruit and veg.

Most of us should be eating more fish. 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.

Also, try to eat a wide variety of fish and fish from sustainable sources. This means they’re produced in a way that will help protect the number of fish available to eat in the future.

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 might help prevent heart disease.

How much oily fish?

Although most of us should be eating more oily fish, women who might have a baby one day should eat no more than two portions of oily fish a week (a portion is about 140g).

Other adults should eat no more than four portions.

Examples of oily fish Salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, fresh tuna, sardines, pilchards.

Examples of non-oily fish Haddock, plaice, pollock, coley, tinned tuna, halibut, skate, sea bass, hake or cod.

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.

For more information on fish and for advice – including recommended limits – for children, women who are pregnant, breastfeeding

or trying for a baby,


 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 and unsaturated.

Saturated fat

Having too much saturated fat 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 can help lower 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.

Foods high in saturated fat Try to eat these sorts of foods less often or in small amounts:

•  meat pies, sausages, meat with visible white fat

•  hard cheese

•  butter and lard

•  pastry

•  cakes and biscuits

•  cream, soured cream and crème fraîche

•  coconut oil, coconut cream and palm oil

For a healthy choice, use just a small amount of vegetable oil or a reduced-fat spread instead of butter, lard or ghee. And when you are having meat, try to choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat.

It’s not a good idea to be either underweight or overweight. Being overweight can lead to health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. Being underweight could also affect your health.

You can check if you are the right weight for your height by using the chart at the end of this booklet.

If you think you just need to lose a little weight, the main things to remember are:

•  only eat as much food as you need

•  make healthy choices – it’s a good idea to choose low-fat and low-sugar varieties, and eat plenty of fruit and veg and wholegrains

•  get more active

It’s also important to eat a variety of types of food so you get all the nutrients your body needs.

Physical activity is a good way of using up extra calories, and helps control our weight. But this doesn’t mean you need to join a gym.

Just try to get active every day and build up the amount you do. For example, you could

try to fit in as much walking as you can into your daily routine. Try to walk at a good pace.

Whenever we eat more than our body needs, we put on weight. This is because we store any energy we don’t use up – usually as fat. Even small amounts of extra energy each day can lead to weight gain.

But crash diets aren’t good for your health and they don’t work in the longer term. The way to reach a healthy weight – and stay there – is to change your lifestyle gradually. Aim to lose about 0.5 to 1kg (about 1 to 2lbs) a week, until you reach a healthy weight for your height