Eating healthily isn't complicated once you know the basics. The Balance of a healthy diet will help you plan for a healthy lifestyle.

Many people are unsure of what healthy eating means so it’s not surprising when you consider the variety of, often conflicting, advice given. The following guidelines are based on the UK Government’s ‘Balance of Good Health’ and apply to most people over the age of 5. People under medical supervision or with special dietary requirements may have different needs and should check with their doctor. If you are trying to eat more healthily in order to lose weight, you'll also need to pay attention to calories.

Fruit & Vegetables - at least 5 portions a day

This includes frozen, canned, dried and pure juices as well as fresh. Also included in this group are beans, baked beans, pulses and lentils. The key for good health is to choose a wide variety of at least five different portions per day. A portion is approximately 80g, e.g. one medium apple or two medium plums.

Bread, Other Cereals & Potatoes – at least 5 portions a day

This food group includes breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, noodles, oats and other cereals as well as bread and potatoes. You should aim to include at least one food from this group at each meal.

Milk & Dairy Foods - 2-3 servings a day

Milk, cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are included in this group, but not butter, eggs and cream. Serving sizes in this group vary, depending on how concentrated the food is, e.g. 1 serving of milk is 200ml, a serving of yoghurt is 150g and a serving of cheese is 30g.

Meat Fish & Alternatives - 2-3 servings a day

This group includes eggs, poultry, and meat and fish products such as fish fingers and fishcakes. Some of these products can be high in fat so it’s best to choose lower fat versions of products, and trim visible fat from meat and poultry. Alternatives are non-meat sources of protein such as nuts, tofu, mycoprotein, textured vegetable protein (TVP) and kidney beans.

Foods Containing Fat & Foods Containing Sugar - 0-3 servings a day

These are foods high in fat and/or sugar. Butter, margarine, oil, mayonnaise, cream, crisps and fried foods are high in fat. Soft drinks, sweets and jam are high in sugar. Cakes, chocolate, biscuits, pastries and ice-cream are high in both. It is essential to include a small amount of fat in your diet, but most people need to eat less. The emphasis should be on unsaturated fat e.g. olive, sunflower and corn oil, rather than saturated fat that tends to come from animal products, cakes, biscuits and pastries.

You may find it beneficial to keep a food diary to track what you eat.  From this you will be able to see what food groups you are missing and what groups you need to eat more of.  If you are honest about what you are eating then you will find it easy to have a healthy balanced diet.