The Benefits of a Healthy, Balanced Diet

In short a healthy, balanced diet can stop you gaining weight, reducing your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. Eating well helps to reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease and it can also help lower your cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of some cancers.

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By eating at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day, you can reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease by 30%, lose weight, and enhance your immune system so you don't get sick as often.

The World Health Organization stated that at least 80 percent of all heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes, and up to 40 percent of cancer could be prevented if people ate better, engaged in more physical activity and quit using tobacco.

But what is a healthy, balanced diet?

Nutrition Guidelines

Eat Lots of Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are a vital source of vitamins and minerals and should make up just over a third of the food we eat each day. It's advised that we eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. There's evidence that people who eat at least five portions a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

One portion is 80g that's a serving that is approximately the size of your fist.

Easy Ways to Get Your Portions

• Have an apple, pear, slice of pineapple or melon.
• Three heaped tablespoons of vegetables.
• Have a sliced banana with your morning cereal.
• Swap your mid-morning biscuit for a tangerine.
• Add a side salad to your lunch.
• Have a portion of vegetables with dinner.
• Snack on fresh fruit with natural plain yoghurt in the evening.

Base Meals on Starchy Carbohydrates

Starchy foods should make up just over one third of everything we eat. This means we should base our meals on these foods. Potatoes with the skins on are a great source of fibre and vitamins, so, when having boiled potatoes or a jacket potato, eat the skin too. Try to choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta and wholemeal bread. They contain more fibre, vitamins and minerals than white varieties.

Cut Down on Saturated Fat and Sugar

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease, while regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.

Have Some Dairy or Dairy Alternatives

Milk and dairy foods such as cheese and yoghurt are good sources of protein. They also contain calcium, which helps keep your bones healthy. To enjoy the health benefits of dairy without eating too much fat, use semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmed milk, as well as lower-fat hard cheeses or cottage cheese, and lower-fat, lower-sugar yoghurt. Fat free greek yoghurt and fat free cottage cheese are great high protein, low fat options.

If you are vegan or you are looking to reduce your consumption of dairy, unsweetened, calcium-fortified dairy alternatives like soya milks, soya yoghurts and soya cheeses also count as part of this food group and can make good alternatives to dairy products.

Eat Some Beans, Pulses, Fish, Eggs, Meat and Other Protein

These foods are all good sources of protein, which is essential for the body to grow and repair itself. They are also good sources of a range of vitamins and minerals. If you eat meat try to stick to lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat. Avoid sliced processed meats, sausage, bacon, salami etc which are high fat and have now been classified as class 1 carcinogens by the WHO. For further information please read cancer risks when eating red and processed meats. Fish is another important source of protein, and contains many vitamins and minerals. Oily fish is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Aim for at least two portions of fish a week, including one portion of oily fish. Fresh, frozen or canned fish all count, but remember that canned and smoked fish can often be high in salt. Eggs and pulses (including beans, nuts and seeds) are also great sources of protein. Nuts are high in fibre and a good alternative to snacks high in saturated fat, but they do still contain high levels of fat, so eat them in moderation avoiding highly salted varieties.

Eat Less Salt

75% of the salt we eat is already in everyday foods especially bread, breakfast cereal and ready meals. You don't have to add salt to food to be eating too much. Too much dietary salt can lead to high blood pressure, which currently affects more than one third of adults in the UK. Adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day. Cutting down on salt lowers blood pressure decreasing your risk of having a stroke or developing heart disease.

Drink Plenty of Fluids

Water is a healthy and cheap choice for quenching your thirst at any time. It has no calories and contains no sugars that can damage teeth. Plain tea, fruit tea and coffee (without added sugar) can also be healthy. If you don't like the taste of plain water, try sparkling water or add a slice of lemon or lime. Or heat the water and infuse a tea bag, some coffee or a slice of lemon. You could also add some no-added-sugar squash or fruit juice for flavour. 6-8 cups/glasses per day.