What is a balanced diet?
It seems to be one of those health catchphrases that is constantly heard but rarely explained. What it really means, in simple terms, is combining several different types of foods including grains and pulses, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy products, fats and oils, in the right proportions so your body gets all the nutrients it needs while maintaining a healthy weight.
The nutrition information on food labels, together with Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) information, should help you achieve this. You should aim to include a variety of foods to provide all the necessary nutrients for health. In particular:
- When you eat something high in fat, choose low fat foods at other times to compensate
- Watch your fat intake, especially saturated fat
- Base meals around starchy foods
- Consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day
- Engage in some form of physical activity
For information on sensible snacking, click here.
What is a balanced meal?
Whatever it is you are comparing, remember that GDAs are for your intake across a whole day, so meals can be “traded off” against one another – if your breakfast is high in saturated fat then try to make sure your lunch and dinner are lower options.
Moreover, in the case of prepared foods, such as DOLMIO pasta sauces, remember to think about the total meal you will eat and not just the sauce. A pasta sauce may appear less healthy at a certain percentage of your GDA for saturated fat, but when served with pasta and vegetables, both of which contain none, this meal could actually be less than one third of your daily guideline maximum – so overall a more healthy option! For other complete meal examples click here.
Remember too that it is a consistent healthy balanced diet which matters. So if you exceed one or more of your GDAs on certain days just think about balancing this out on other days.