A Balanced diet

The Eat Well Plate

The Eatwell plate shows the 5 food groups that make up a healthy diet. The
Eatwell plate is the basis for dietary advice for everyone, including people
who are overweight, have diabetes or raised cholesterol levels.

Food Group and Daily Portion Sizes

Recommended Serving
Bread, other cereals and 3 tbs breakfast cereal, 1 Weetabix or Shredded
potatoes Wheat
- include wholegrain 1 slice bread/toast or ½ bread roll
products. small pitta bread/chapatti
At least 6 a day. 3 crackers
1 egg sized potato, 1 spoon mashed potato
2 tbs rice or pasta, noodles (uncooked)
Fruit and vegetables 3 tbs vegetables/tinned/stewed fruit
- include a mixture of Cereal bowl of salad
vegetables and fruit. Piece of fresh fruit, eg, one apple, one pear or
At least 5 a day handful grapes/berries,
2 small fruits eg satsumas, plums, 1 tbs dried fruit
150ml fruit juice
Milk & dairy foods 200ml (1/3rd pint) of milk
- choose lower fat types small pot of yoghurt, cottage cheese or fromage
2-3 portions a day frais
1½oz/40g cheese (a small matchbox sized chunk).
Meat, fish and alternatives 2-3oz/50-70g beef, pork, ham, lamb, liver, kidney
- choose lower fat types 2-3oz/50g-70g chicken or oily fish (cooked weight)
2-3 portions a day 4-5oz/100-150g white fish (not fried in batter)
2 eggs (up to 6 per week)
3 tbs baked beans
3 tbs pulses/lentils (cooked)
Drinks 250ml (½ pint) mug/cup/glass of water, tea,
8-10 times a day coffee,
sugar-free drinks, unsweetened fruit juice.

The Traffic Light System

The traffic light labelling system will tell you whether a food has high, medium or low amounts of fat,
saturated fat, sugars and salt. It will also tell you the number of calories and kilojoules in that
product.

 Red means the product is high in a nutrient and you

should try to cut down, eat less often or eat smaller
amounts.
 Amber means medium. If a food contains mostly amber,
you can eat it most of the time.
 Green means low. The greener the lights a label displays,
the healthier the food choice is.
Proteins

 Proteins are a vital part of a healthy diet. Protein-rich foods include fish, meat, eggs and
beans.
 Your body uses proteins to make new cells for growth, and repair damaged tissues.
 Sports nutritionists use knowledge about proteins to ensure their clients get the protein they
need to repair damaged muscles.

Protein-rich foods:

Protein is one of the main food groups, and is needed by the body for cell growth and repair.
Protein-rich foods include:

 fish
 meat
 eggs
 milk
 cheese
 beans
 peas
 tofu

How much protein do you need?

You need to eat protein-rich foods every day. The World Health Organisation recommends that
between 10% and 15% of your daily energy intake should be protein. For teenage girls, this is around
53 g of protein per day, and 72 g for teenage boys.

Bibliography

http://www.westernsussexhospitals.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Eatwell-Plate-
Portion-Sizes.pdf

https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/check-the-label

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf339j6/articles/zh2r97h