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Healthy Eating Tips

  1. Include at least 1-2 varied fresh / tinned fish meals per week. Around 2 serves a week is great and will help protect you from heart disease and possibly cancer. Having more doesn’t seem to be better for your health and 2 serves a week leaves room in your diet for other meats and meat alternatives and helps protect our fish stocks.
  2. Include several varied lean red meat meals per week. Vegetarians need to eat legumes and/or nuts daily. Around 3 serves a week is fine, however, having more than this weekly frequency has not been conclusively associated with any adverse health effects. HEC nutrition experts recommend 3 serves a week so that you leave space in your diet for other meats and meat alternatives and also on the grounds of environmental sustainability. Having less may increase your risk of having an inadequate intake of iron and zinc, especially if you do not eat nuts, legumes, eggs, fish, chicken on days when you do not eat red meat. Also, remember that 1 serve of red meat or meat alternative (eggs, nuts, legumes, fish, pork/chicken) is recommended daily in one’s diet.
  3. Include lean poultry or pork weekly. Around 2 serves a week is fine, however, having more than this weekly frequency has not been associated so far with any adverse health effects. This recommendation is based on the frequency of intake of long-lived populations in the Mediterranean in the 1960s. HEC nutrition experts also recommend 2 serves a week so that you leave space in your diet for other meats and meat alternatives and also on the grounds of environmental sustainability. Having less than this is also OK.
  4. Include at least one legume meal per week e.g tofu, baked beans. Around 3 serves a week is great. This recommendation is based on the frequency of intake of long-lived populations in the Mediterranean and in Asia. More than this weekly frequency is recommended for vegetarians or for people who avoid red meat or for people trying to reduce their cholesterol level. Legumes/soy are a ‘meat alternative’ – this means that when you have, for example, baked beans on toast, it counts as a ‘serving of red meat’.
  5. Include a handful of a variety of nuts/seeds several times a week. A handful of a variety of nuts 2 to 5 times a week lowers your risk of heart disease. If you are worried about your weight, combining nuts/seeds with low calorie foods (e.g. vegetables/ salads) in meals is a good way to eat them. Having more than this weekly frequency is recommended for vegetarians or for people who avoid red meat. Instead of having that biscuit or piece of cake, try a handful of plain unroasted and unsalted nuts (nuts are sometimes roasted in saturated fat). Remember nuts are a good substitute for meat (meat alternative), so a vegetable meal with nuts counts as a ‘serving of red meat’.
  6. Include eggs weekly. Around 4 small eggs per week is great, however, if you have a cholesterol level less than 5mmol/l and if you have a low intake of animal fats you can have 1-2 eggs daily if you wish. If your cholesterol level is >7mmol/l or if you have diabetes or other heart disease risk factors (like hypertension or smoking) it is advisable to limit intake to 1-2 a week. Also, remember that eggs are a ‘meat alternative’ – this means that when you have an egg meal it counts as a ‘serving of red meat’ – which is great news for vegetarians.
  7. Include several cups of a variety of vegetables daily. Include dark green leafy types, a variety of deep coloured vegetables across the week and garlic, onions and herbs in meals daily.
  8. Use cooking methods that minimise the risk of cancer by adding herbs, spices, fruits, vinegar.
  9. Include reduced fat milk products daily. About 2 serves a day is great, especially if reduced in fat. However, more is OK, especially if you are female and under 30 or over 50 or post-menopausal. Try to include a variety of dairy products, especially fermented products, like yoghurt, since the bacteria they contain provide extra health benefits. Also, include some calcium fortified soy drinks, especially if you have a high cholesterol level or if you going through the menopause. Try to limit intake of fatty cheese (>20% fat) to 3 serves a week in order to keep intake of saturated fat low. Fatty cheese is also high in calories so may not be helpful if trying to lose weight. If you’re not worried about the calories, having more than three serves a week is acceptable if your intake of other fatty foods is low.
  10. Have at least two different pieces of fruit daily. Try to have a couple of serves daily. If you have more than this – that’s good. Whole fruit (whether fresh, canned or dried) is preferable to juice because it is higher in fibre and nutrients; it tends to be more filling and has less of an impact on blood sugar levels (which is desirable especially if you have diabetes). However, it is better to have some fruit juice than no fruit at all – 2 small glasses of 100% pure juice daily is fine. Fruit juice drinks/cordials are not counted as a fruit serve.
  11. Try to make most of your cereal serves whole grain and reduced in salt. Bread is a major source of salt in our diet. About 5 serves a day is fine; if you are physically active then you can eat more; if you are trying to lose weight you may wish to have 3-4 serves a day, but it is best not to eliminate this group because you need some carbohydrate to metabolise and oxidise dietary and body fat. Eat a variety of breads/cereals and include some that are wholegrain, like wholemeal wholegrain bread and rolled oats. Try to consume breads/cereals with a low glycaemic index (GI) such as grainy/seedy bread (e.g Burgen soy linseed, Taylors bread), basmati/doongara rice, breakfast cereals with bran/hi-maize/oats (e.g hi-bran soy linseed weetbix) (see GI table). Low GI foods may help you lose weight and may help you control blood sugar levels, which is important if you have glucose intolerance (the condition between health and diabetes) or diabetes.
  12. It is OK to sprinkle a little iodized salt on healthy foods to improve their flavour.
  13. It is OK to sprinkle a little sugar on healthy foods to improve their flavour; prefer foods with naturally occurring sugars over those high in added sugar.
  14. Have plentiful fluids using water and tea. About 6-8 cups of water daily is great; more is fine, especially if you are physically active or if you sweat a lot. Some of this water can be consumed as tea, coffee or cocoa beverages – all of which are high in antioxidants. About 4-6 cups of tea/coffee a day is OK if you are not sensitive to caffeine (can raise blood pressure). Softdrinks/cordials/ energy drinks should be kept to a minimum if consumed.
  15. Minimise ‘hidden fats’ by choosing lean meats, reduced fat milk products and processed foods.
  16. Prefer unrefined natural fat found in nuts, seeds, fish, soy, olives and avocado (because the fat is accompanied by other desirable nutrients).
  17. Reserve added fats (preferably cold pressed monounsaturated oils) for cooking to improve the palatability of vegetables, legumes & fish dishes. About 1-2 tablespoons of oil/margarine a day is fine as long as you keep other ‘hidden’ fats to a minimum. This can be achieved by consuming lean meats, reduced fat dairy products and by keeping to a minimum fatty fast food (like pies) , snack foods (like potato crisps) and treats (like cakes and biscuits). If you are not trying to lose weight or if you are physically active you can have more than 2 tablespoons a day. If you are trying to lose weight there is no need to eliminate fat from your diet (some fat is needed for essential fatty acids) – about 1-2 tablespoons a day is fine. Rather than having the recommended amount with bread, reserve your couple of tablespoons of oil for your meals to improve the palatability of vegetables, fish and legumes. Fat can also help improve the absorption of antioxidants from the vegetables. Use a variety of margarines and oils, especially ones high in monounsaturated fat, omega 3 fats and antioxidants – such as canola, extra virgin olive oil, peanut oil and coconut milk/cream.