What does healthy eating really look like?

Healthy living is important for a number of reasons, but mostly because you’ll look and feel better.  There are many benefits from eating well and moving more, including;

• Improved energy, sleep and mental health
• Reduced risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia
• Improved management of blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure (with less reliance on medications)
• Lower your risk of developing a variety of different cancers
• Better gut health and microbiome
• Healthier hair, skin, nails and teeth
• A stronger immune system

Many people are confused about what they should be eating, with so much conflicting advice.  We are hoping to simply things for you, and bring it back to a sensible balance that has been proven by large-scale research.

Overall, healthy eating means getting a wide variety of foods from all of the food groups, mostly from ‘whole-food’ sources that are low in saturated fats, salt, added sugar and artificial ingredients.  This is epitomised in a well-known quote by Michael Pollen, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Do your best to eat as many colourful vegetables as possible, a variety of different types of fruit, minimally processed whole grains, some dairy (or calcium alternatives) and fresh lean meat, seafood and/or vegetarian protein.

It’s also important to keep alcohol to levels that reduce your risk of disease and injury over your lifetime. Checking the amount of sugar you are getting from drinks (such as juice, soft drink and iced coffee) is very helpful too as you may be accidentally having more than you realise!

Over the coming weeks, we will be exploring each of these topics in more detail as well as other useful tips to help you get more benefits from the food you eat.

If you’re interested in learning more, why not join Suzannah Smart, local nutritionist and dietician, for an upcoming supermarket tour and interactive label reading session?

More Information

• recommendations for portions and daily intake from each of the food groups:  www.eatforhealth.gov.au.
• safe alcohol consumption: http://alcohol.gov.au.