An Australian Guide to Healthy Eating suggests eating from 5 different groups of foods for a nutritious and balanced diet. These five groups are as follows:
· Vegetables, legumes, and beans
· Lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and nuts
· Cereals, mostly wholegrain
· Milk, cheese, yogurt
· Fruits
These foods have been kept in the respective groups because they provide similar key nutrients.
Eating from various groups of foods is important to derive key nutrients for a balanced meal. Eating these foods in sufficient quantity is also necessary to meet the body’s need for key nutrients.
Occasional and junk foods
Sometimes, what we eat does not necessarily belong to any one of these groups of foods. For example, takeaway foods such as biscuits and cakes don’t belong to any group of healthy or nutritious foods. They have added salt and sugar as well as saturated fat. You should eat these foods in small quantities and occasionally. That’s why they are called occasional foods.
There is a long list of occasional or junk foods. Some of these foods may be your favorites. But, you should avoid them in favor of more healthy and nutritious foods.
· Bakery products such as cakes and pastries
· Processed meats, salty sausages
· Pizzas and hamburgers
· Alcoholic drinks
· Ice creams, chocolates
· Soft drinks, energy drinks
These foods are blamed for causing many health problems such as heart diseases, type-2 diabetes, and cancer.
Should you eat fat?
According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, you should eat a small amount of healthy fats each day. The actual quantity can vary from 1 to 2 tablespoons. Eating a little amount of unsaturated fat helps the body in many ways. These include:
· Absorption of some vitamins such as A, D, E, and K
· It lowers the chances of heart disease
· It can lower the cholesterol levels
The right way to eat healthy or unsaturated fats is to substitute them for saturated or unhealthy fats that you may be eating. Examples of unsaturated fats include butter and cream. You can replace saturated fats with olive oil and margarine.
How much should you eat from the 5 groups of nutritious foods?
You should take a balanced amount of nutritious food. For this, you need to be conscious of the quantity or the serving size you use. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating explains the serving size you and your family members need. Here, is a sneak view of all the assorted information on this subject.
The daily food serving will vary for different foods, and also for different people. Physical activity level, gender, and age are some of the important determining factors that decide the average serve size. Here, we try to present an average serve size for an average adult person. This is just an example and you are allowed to do your experiments. Only make sure you don’t go on binge eating any of the foods, particularly meats and fatty foods. Eating a balanced amount of these foods is good but overeating is not good.
Vegetables
You should aim to consume about 75 grams of vegetables to derive up to 350 kilojoules (KJ).
· 25 grams of cooked carrots, broccoli, spinach, weigh or pumpkin
· 20 grams of cooked or canned peas, lentils, or beans
· 10 grams of raw of leafy vegetable salads
· 15 grams medium potato and ½ cup sweet corn
· 10 grams small tomato
Fruits
Your standard serve of fruit should weigh 150 grams and aim at 350 KJ. Here is how you can get it:
· 1 piece of apple, pear, banana, or orange
· 2 pieces of apricots, kiwi fruit, plums
· 1 cup canned fruit
Occasionally
· ½ cup fruit juice without sugar
· 30 gram dried fruit such as apricot
Grains
You should aim at 500 KJ from cereals, especially whole grains or high-fiber grains. Here is how you can get it:
· 40 grams of bread
· 40 grams flatbread
· Up to 125 grams of cooked pasta, rice, barley, noodles, or buckwheat
· Up to 125 grams of cooked porridge
· 30 grams muesli
· 30 grams cereal flakes
· 35 grams of crispbreads
· 60 grams crumpet
· 35 grams muffin or scone
Lean meats poultry, fish, etc
You should aim at 500-600 KJ. Here is how you can get it.
· 70 grams cooked lean red meat
· 70 grams of cooked poultry
· 100 grams of cooked fish
· 2 large eggs
· 150 gram cooked lentils, chickpeas
· 170 grams of tofu
· 30-gram nuts
Milk, yogurt, cheese
You should aim at deriving 500-600 KJ from this group of foods. Here is how you can get it:
· 250 ml fresh, UHT long-life or buttermilk
· 125 ml evaporated milk
· 40 grams of hard cheese
· 120 grams of ricotta cheese
· 200 grams of yogurt
· 250 ml of soy or rice drink with added calcium
You can substitute these foods with the following for your calcium requirements.
· 75 grams of almonds with skin
· 60 grams of sardines
· 100 grams canned pink salmon
· 100 grams firm tofu
Shopping for whole foods
We often emphasize eating whole foods. They are pure and contain more nutrients. There is little adulteration or contamination. These products are sold as they come from the farm unprocessed. To shop these products, you should visit grocery shops that sell organic food products. The store doesn’t need to be upmarket and pricey.
Shop organic
Instead of buying meat and eggs from commercially-run animal farms, try to source your meats, fish, and eggs raised freely in the pastures or the wild. These products have more nutrients such as vitamin A and E, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants.
Shop in season
Fruits and vegetables taste better when they are in season. They are also found more abundantly and cheaper. This will allow you to have them fresh and as much you want. They are also healthier.
Concluding thoughts
Eating healthy, balanced, and nutritious food is good for your body and mind. They also protect you from getting sick or developing any health problem. In this article, we discussed 5 different groups of foods that are healthy and nutritious. We have also suggested a standard serve size to help you with healthy eating.
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