Healthy eating basics: the Eatwell Guide
The NHS Eatwell Guide in plain terms: the five food groups, how much of each, and what to drink, as the foundation for eating around your training.
Before any training-specific nutrition, the foundation is a balanced diet. In the UK that is set out in the NHS Eatwell Guide, which shows how much of what we eat should come from each food group. It applies to most people, whatever their weight, whether or not they eat meat, and whatever their ethnic origin.
You don’t need to get this balance at every meal: the NHS advises getting it right over a day or even a week.
The five food groups
Fruit and vegetables should make up just over a third of what you eat each day: at least 5 portions, and a variety. Fresh, frozen, tinned, dried and juiced all count. Starchy foods such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta should make up just over a third too, choosing higher-fibre or wholegrain versions where you can.
Then some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins, with lean meat and less red and processed meat, and at least two portions of fish a week, one of them oily. Have some dairy or dairy alternatives such as soya drinks, choosing lower-fat and lower-sugar options. Use unsaturated oils and spreads, in small amounts.
Drinks, and the foods outside the guide
The guide recommends 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower-fat milks, lower-sugar or sugar-free drinks, tea and coffee all count. Limit fruit juice and smoothies to 150 ml a day in total.
Foods and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar sit outside the guide: they are not needed in a healthy diet, so have them less often and in small amounts.
Energy, and who it is for
On average, women need around 2,000 calories a day and men around 2,500, though individual needs vary, with activity level among the factors. The guide does not apply to children under 2, and anyone with special dietary or medical needs should speak to a registered dietitian.
Sources
This is general nutrition information, not medical or dietetic advice. If you have a medical condition, allergies or specific dietary needs, speak to your GP or a registered dietitian.
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