Improving Your Diet

Improving Your Diet

• Introduction to improving your diet
• What is a healthy diet?
• Benefits of having a healthy diet
• Tips for improving your diet
  • Keep track of how much you eat and don’t eat more than you expend
  • Eat a wide variety of foods every day
  • Base your diet on cereals and whole grains
  • Increase fruit and vegetable consumption
  • Meet calcium requirements to ensure healthy teeth and bones
  • Reduce fat, salt and sugar intake
  • Drink plenty of water
  • Choose a diet that offers maximum health benefits

weight, or because they want to improve their nutritional health. Even after deciding to improve their diet, some people may have difficulty doing so. They may have well-developed unhealthy eating patterns, or they may not be well informed about what they should be eating to make their diet healthier. Obtaining good information about healthy eating is therefore an important part of improving diet.

expended, and which contains all essential dietary nutrients (e.g. protein, vitamins and minerals). The total amount of energy an individual should consume will vary depending on gender, age and exercise habits. All people should source their energy from a variety of food groups and include plenty of fruits, vegetables and wholegrain cereals, and only small amounts of fat.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommend that adult women consume foods from the following groups in the following proportions each day:

• Fruit: 2 servings (one serving is a medium piece of fruit or equivalent);
• Vegetables: 5 servings (one serving is 75 g of cooked vegetables or a cup of raw salad vegetables);
• Cereals: 4–9 servings (one serving is two slices of bread; one cup of cooked rice or equivalent);
• Dairy products: 2 servings (one serving is 250 mL of milk, 40 g of cheese, or 200 g of yoghurt);
• Lean meat, poultry, fish and legumes: 1 serving (one serving is 65–100 g of cooked meat or equivalent);
• Fats and sugars: In small quantities, occasionally.

Adult men should consume the following quantities of the following foods each day:

• Fruit: 2 servings (one serving is a medium piece of fruit or equivalent);
• Vegetables: 5 servings (one serving is 75 g of cooked vegetables or a cup of raw salad vegetables);
• Cereals: 6–12 servings (one serving is two slices of bread; one cup of cooked rice or equivalent);
• Dairy products: 2 servings (one serving is 250 mL of milk, 40 g of cheese, or 200 g of yoghurt);
• Lean meat, poultry, fish and legumes: 1 serving (one serving is 65–100 g of cooked meat or equivalent);
• Fats and sugars: In small quantities, occasionally.

Metabolic syndrome;

Diabetes;

Cardiovascular disorders;

Stroke;

Hypertension;

Cancer;

Eye disorders.

Maintaining a healthy diet also helps maintain a healthy weight, which:

• Promotes self-esteem;
• Reduces the likelihood of depression;^and
• Gives you more energy to enjoy life.

Watch a video on Food: Basics of What We Need to Eat

There are many easy ways to improve the nutritional content of the diet and reduce fats and calories. If you are trying to improve your diet, try some of the following tips.

vitamin A, while citrus fruits are high in vitamin C), eating a varied diet can help ensure all essential nutrients are obtained through eating. To increase the variety of foods in your diet, why not:

• Try a new type of fruit or vegetable every week;
• Serve food from a variety of groups with each meal (e.g. serve a salad and a glass of milk with breakfast, lunch or dinner);
• Prepare a healthy eating plan that includes a wide variety of foods and outlines which ones will be eaten each day.

cereals and grains, and to do that it may be useful to:

• Eat plenty of cereals or grains with every meal;
• Choose wholegrain options (e.g. brown rice, wholemeal bread and high fibre breakfast cereals) as these contain more fibre per gram than other options;
• Include rice and pasta in your diet, as these options contain less salt than bread;
• Try new cereals and grains which you haven’t tried before or don’t eat very often (e.g. couscous or polenta).

Dairy products (e.g. milk, cheese and yoghurt) provide the best and most readily absorbable source of calcium. They are an essential component of a healthy diet. Calcium is an important component of teeth and bones, and inadequate calcium intake early in life increases the risk of bone conditions such as osteoporosis later in life. Consuming adequate amounts of calcium is therefore very important. The following tips may help you to increase your calcium intake:

• Eat dairy with every meal, as the calcium it contains is more readily absorbed when it is eaten with other food sources. Try adding a glass of milk or a serving of cheese to meals;
• Choose low-fat dairy varieties to obtain the calcium benefits of dairy without consuming additional fat;
• If you cannot or do not want to eat dairy products, add a calcium supplement to your diet, although be aware that supplements lack the additional nutrients contained in dairy sources;
• When shopping, ensure you purchase enough dairy products for everyone in the house to eat two servings per day;
• Make healthy fruit smoothies by blending fruit, with low fat milk, ice and low-fat yoghurt.

meat varieties and prepare them without using fat (e.g. barbecue or grill). Remove the skin and trim the fat from meat before cooking it;

Choose unsaturated fats (e.g. olive oil or canola oil) for cooking;

Avoid take away and processed foods, as these often contain large quantities of fat, salt or sugar;

Avoid fatty, salty and sugary snacks. Choose fresh fruits and vegetables (with low-fat yoghurt) or unsalted nuts or seeds instead;

Choose low fat dairy options; and

Don’t add salt to vegetables or other foods when cooking.

Mediterranean diet). Maintaining such a diet can help a person to lose weight, and will also reduce their risk of chronic health conditions such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

More information

 For more information on staying healthy in the New Year, including tips on diet, partying, exercise and general health, see Health in the New Year. 

Reference

1. University of Maryland Medical Centre. New Year’s resolution guide [online]. 11 December 2008 [cited 16 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.umm.edu/ features/ resolutions_guide.htm
2. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids. Chapter 5: Energy [online]. Washington DC: National Academies Press; 2005. [cited 6 June 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.nap.edu/ catalog/ 10490.html
3. National Health and Medical Research Council. Dietary guidelines for Australian adults [online]. 10 April 2003 [cited 13 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/ _files_nhmrc/ file/ publications/ synopses/ n33.pdf  
4. Esposito K, Marfella R, Ciotola M, Di Palo C, Giugliano F, Giugliano G, et al. Effect of a Mediterranean-style diet on endothelial dysfunction and markers of vascular inflammation in the metabolic syndrome: A randomized trial [online]. JAMA 2004: 292(12): 1440-6.
5. Blaine BE, Rodman J, Newman JM. Weight loss treatment and psychological well-being: A review and meta-analysis. J Health Psychol.  2007; 12(1): 66-82.
6. American Heart Foundation. Diet and lifestyle recommendations [online]. 2009 [cited 13 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.americanheart.org/ presenter.jhtml?identifier=851
7. Food Standards Agency UK. Healthy Christmas eating [online]. 2009 [cited 11 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/ healthydiet/ seasonsandcelebrations/ winter/ healthychristmaseating/
8. Kellett E, Smith A, Schmerlaib Y. The Australian guide to healthy eating [online]. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. 1998. [cited 13 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.health.gov.au/ internet/ main/ publishing.nsf/ Content/ health-pubhlth-strateg-food-resources.htm 
9. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Low fruit and vegetable consumption [online]. 2001 [cited 14 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.aihw.gov.au/ riskfactors/ statistics/ RFtable2.cfm
10. Go for 2 5. Tips [online]. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. 2009 [cited 14 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.health.gov.au/ internet/ healthyactive/ publishing.nsf/ Content/ tips
11. Weaver CM. Calcium bioavailability and its relation to osteoporosis. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1992; 200(2): 157-60.
12. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water: Meeting your daily fluid needs [online]. 3 December 2008 [cited 16 December 2009]. Available from URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ nutrition/ everyone/ basics/ water.html

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Article Dates:

Modified: 3/6/2010

Created: 22/12/2009

Improving Your Diet