What is a healthy and balanced diet?

A healthy diet involves eating a wide range of the foods from five different food groups as detailed in the Eatwell guide. This shows you how much you should eat overall coming from each food group which are:

• Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
• Base your meals on starch carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta etc
• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives 
• Choose food containing low fat and low sugar
• For protein, aim to eat foods such as beans, eggs, pulses and meat and try to eat at least two portions of oily fish every week
• Go for unsaturated (good fat) oils and spreads but have in small amounts

Alongside this, the amount of foods containing high sugar, salt and fat content should be eaten less often and in small amounts. It is also recommended to drink plenty of fluids (6-8 glasses a day).

This is a government guideline but it doesn’t mean you have to achieve this in every single meal; it can be achieved over a day or a week.

To view an interactive guide to the Eatwell guide, click here to read further.