What is a healthy diet?

The foundation of a healthy diet is balance, variety and moderation. The maintenance of a healthy body requires the intake of carbohydrate (sugar, starch or fibre), fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. The World Health Organisation states that a healthy adult diet should therefore ideally contain a balance of fruit, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils and beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed cereals or brown rice), with a minimum of five portions (400g) of fruit and vegetables to be consumed daily.

To achieve the optimum level of nutrition, a healthy diet should consist of:

• Approximately one third starchy foods such as bread, rice or pasta -
preferably whole grain varieties, as the increased fibre content is beneficial to the intestine

• Some protein rich foods such as meat, fish or lentils

• Some milk or other dairy products

• Limited amounts of fat, salt and sugar.

To be continued!