This factsheet gives practical information on a balanced diet<\/strong>.<\/p>\nIt shows how the nutrients that the body needs are related to the foods we eat.<\/p>\n
Your body needs seven essential nutrients to keep healthy. These are: fats, carbohydrates, protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water.<\/p>\n
Eating a varied diet is the best way to give your body all nutrients that it needs.<\/p>\n
By eating more fresh and unprocessed or \u201cwhole\u201d foods, will give your body more nutrients.<\/p>\n
Portion size<\/h2>\n
Portion size can be difficult to understand and hard to work out for every meal. <\/strong><\/p>\nAs rough guide, please see this example plate of food:<\/p>\n
![\"Food](\"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/food-plate-basic.png\")
<\/p>\n
The protein on your plate will normally come from lean meat or fish. If you are vegetarian, you can choose from a range of beans and pulses.<\/p>\n
When picking your carbs for the meal, choose complex carbohydrates, such as wholewheat<\/strong>\u00a0pasta, brown<\/strong> rice, sweet potatoes or oats.<\/p>\nYou don’t need to avoid fats completely. Just choose more of the unsaturated kind found in nuts, seeds, avocado, olive and rapeseed oil.<\/p>\n
Example meals<\/h2>\n
These are three example meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.<\/strong><\/p>\nThey show the foods that make up each meal and the nutrients within the foods.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t show you the amounts of each food in the meal. This will depend on how many meals you eat in a day and how many calories you want to get from each meal.<\/p>\n
The example plate picture and hand portion guide can help.<\/p>\n
Breakfast \u2013 A bowl of muesli with milk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFood<\/strong><\/td>\n| Oats<\/td>\n | Nuts<\/td>\n | Seeds<\/td>\n | Dried fruit<\/td>\n | Milk<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nNutrients<\/strong><\/td>\nCarbohydrate
\n(complex)
\nFibre<\/td>\n | Vitamins
\nMinerals
\nFats
\nProtein<\/td>\n | Vitamins
\nMinerals
\nFats
\nProtein<\/td>\n | Carbohydrate
\n(natural sugars)
\nFibre
\nVitamins
\nMinerals<\/td>\n | Water
\nFats
\nProtein
\nVitamins
\nMinerals
\nCarbohydrate
\n(natural sugars)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nLunch \u2013 Pasta with meat, chunky vegetable sauce and side salad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFood<\/strong><\/td>\nWholemeal
\npasta<\/td>\n | Lean beef\/lamb\/pork
\nmince<\/td>\n | Chunky vegetable sauce<\/td>\n | Cheese
\n(grated)<\/td>\n | Salad*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nNutrients<\/strong><\/td>\nCarbohydrate
\n(complex)
\nFibre
\nProtein<\/td>\n | Protein
\nFats<\/td>\n | Fibre
\nVitamins
\nMinerals
\nWater
\nCarbohydrate<\/td>\n | Fats
\nProtein<\/td>\n | Water
\nVitamins
\nMinerals
\nFibre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nDinner \u2013 Baked sweet potato with grilled salmon and mixed bean salad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nFood<\/strong><\/td>\n| Bean salad<\/td>\n | Sweet potato<\/td>\n | Salmon (or other oily fish)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nNutrients<\/strong><\/td>\nFibre
\nProtein
\nFats
\nVitamins
\nMinerals<\/td>\n | Water
\nFibre
\nVitamins
\nMinerals<\/td>\n | Protein
\nFats
\nVitamins
\nMinerals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nFor vegetarians, most of the meat or fish products in the meals can be swapped for any pulses\/beans. The dairy products can also be swapped for lactose free versions if you are lactose-intolerant.<\/p>\n * Try and use many different types of vegetables in salads and sauces. This provides more vitamins and minerals than just eating vegetables of the same type and colour – It should also taste better!<\/p>\n How many meals and how often?<\/h2>\nMost people eat three meals spaced out through the day: morning (breakfast), afternoon (lunch), and evening (dinner). <\/strong><\/p>\nSpacing out meals throughout the day is also the best way to avoid hunger pangs and snacking on less healthy foods.<\/p>\n Others find that eating five smaller meals suits their lifestyle better. The number of meals eaten depends on the amount of food in those meals.<\/p>\n Try to keep check of the size and type of meals that you eat. It will allow you to make sure that all of your meals are nutrient rich.<\/p>\n It is also best to avoid eating just before bed; it can make it harder to fall asleep as your body is still digesting food.<\/p>\n How quickly should I eat?<\/h2>\nTry to take time eating and enjoy your food.<\/strong><\/p>\nEating too fast can lead to you feeling unwell and puts strain on your digestive system. Eating quickly also makes it easier to eat more food than you need.<\/p>\n It can delay your stomach from telling your brain that it is full and time to stop eating.<\/p>\n What about snacking?<\/h2>\nMany people snack during the day as it is normal to feel hungry between meals.<\/strong><\/p>\nSnacking can actually help towards giving your body the nutrients that it needs (as long as the snacks are healthy). Try eating a handful of nuts, seeds or a piece of fruit (apple, orange, banana etc) instead of sweets, chocolate and crisps.<\/p>\n Eating a handful of nuts and seeds will give your body some calories to help keep your energy levels up. Nuts also contain protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals.<\/p>\n Fruit contains water, vitamins, minerals and fibre. It will also give your body natural sugars. These give you more energy without causing a sudden spike (and then slump), which often happens after eating high sugar foods.<\/p>\n | | | | | | | | |