Healthy Eating

Following a healthy, balanced diet helps make sure that our bodies get all the nutrients needed to work well and feel good, by giving us enough energy and nutrients to keep our bodies working, allowing growth and repair of our body tissue and by giving us the best protection against the risk of disease by keeping our immune systems working.

In the UK, our healthy eating model is called the Eatwell Guide. The Eatwell Guide shows the proportions that each of the food groups should make up in our diet and is designed to apply to most of us, whether we are a healthy weight or overweight, whether we eat meat or are a vegetarian, and no matter what our ethnic origin. The Eatwell Guide does not apply to children under 2 years old as their dietary needs are different.

The Eatwell Guide divides the foods and drinks we consume into 5 main food groups. Try to choose a variety of different foods from each of the groups to help you get the wide range of nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. It’s important to get some fat in your diet, but foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar have been placed outsides the main Eatwell Guide as they are not necessary as part of a healthy balanced diet and most of us need to cut down on these. This does not need to be achieved at every meal, but over a day or a week.

The Eatwell Guide can be used as a tool to help make healthier choices when shopping, planning meals, cooking or eating out.

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