Eating well

Tips for eating well

The Food Standards Agency’s eight tips for eating well can make healthy eating easier:

1. base your meals on starchy foods
2. eat lots of fruit and vegetables
3. eat more fish
4. cut down on saturated fat and sugar
5. try to eat less salt – no more than 6g (1 teaspoon) per day
6. get active and try to be a healthy weight
7. drink plenty of water
8. don’t skip breakfast

Eating well is important for our general health and well being. It means eating the right amount of food for how active you are and eating a range of foods to make sure you're getting a balanced diet.

A healthy, balanced diet contains a variety of types of food, including lots of

• fruit
• vegetables
• starchy foods such as wholemeal bread and wholegrain cereals

some protein-rich foods such as

• meat
• fish
• eggs
• lentils
• milk and dairy foods

To maintain a healthy diet, the eatwell plate shows you how much of what you eat should come from each food.

The eatwell plate

Use the eatwell plate to help you get the balance right. It shows how much of what you eat should come from each food group (source: Food Standards Agency).

5 A DAY

Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day forms part of a healthy, balanced diet and getting your 5 A DAY is easier than you think. Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY, including frozen, canned and dried varieties.

One 5 A DAY portion of fruit or vegetables is about 80g or around one handful.

Have a look at the 5 A DAY website to see what counts as a portion and for tips and suggestions to get your 5 A DAY.