Diet Health
The Diet Detective Online program is not about "phases" or "steps". It's about real solutions, for the real world, that get real results. You'll eat real food, with the option to eat prepared brand-name items or even fast food. You'll learn how to track down new, healthier choices that work, and find a fitness solution that makes sense for your life. Are you ready to make better choices?
Thefullcare.com to maintaining good health is combining a healthy eating plan with daily physical activity. While it may seem easy to follow the latest fad diet or trend going around, many of these plans excessively restrict your intake of foods or entire food groups which can lead to inadequacies in key nutrients. 'Diets' can also be hard to stick to for longer than a few weeks, and many people simply revert back to their old habits in the end. So here we get back to basics to help you put together your own healthy lifestyle plan.
The basics
The basic principles of healthy eating are quite simple:
- Foods are often categorized into five main groups based on their nutrient content. These are vegetables, breads and cereals, fruit, dairy and meats/alternatives. Each different food group provides unique nutrients to your diet, so it's important to eat a variety of foods from each of the major food groups every day.
- Eat moderate portions of all foods, with the exception of vegetables where you can generally eat plenty! (Just make sure you don't overdo the starchy veggies such as potato, sweet potato and corn, which are higher in kilojoules than other veggies). Choosing smaller, frequent meals and snacks will help keep the variety in your diet.
- Remember that enjoying foods is the key to being able to sustain healthy eating habits in the long term, so a healthy balanced diet can include the occasional treat!
Every day foods
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
These foods contribute to your daily carbohydrate intake, and wholegrain choices in particular such as whole meal bread or pasta, brown rice and oats are high in fiber, B vitamins and minerals.
Vegetables and legumes
Including a variety of different colored vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables like cabbage, spinach and broccoli, and orange, yellow and red colored vegetables like carrot, sweet potato, pumpkin and tomato in your daily diet means you get plenty of fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C and foliate. Aim for at least 5 serves daily.
One serve of vegetables equals:
1 cup of salad
1/2 cup of vegetables or legumes
1 potato
Fruit
Fresh, canned and frozen fruits are rich in fiber, vitamin C and foliate, so enjoy these daily. Fruit juice and dried fruit in small amounts can also contribute to your fruit serves. Aim for at least 2 serves daily.
One serve of fruit equals:
1 medium piece such as apple, orange or banana, or 2 small fruits such as apricot or kiwi fruit
1 cup of diced or canned fruit
4 pieces of dried fruit or 1 1/2 tablespoons of sultanas
1/2 a glass of juice (125ml)
Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes
The foods in this group include lean red meat, fish, pork, chicken, legumes and eggs. These foods provide protein, vitamin B12, zinc and iron in varying amounts, so it's important to include a variety of each type in your weekly eating plan. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends at least 1 serve each day, however for optimal nutrition, at least 2 serves from this group daily is ideal. It's important to include lean red meat 3 or 4 times per week and fish twice per week.
One serve of meat and alternatives equals:
- 85g cooked lean beef, lamb, veal, pork or chicken
- 100g cooked fish
- Two eggs
- 1/2 cup cooked dried beans, lentils or chickpeas, or 1/3 cup peanuts or almonds
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