Expert tips for healthy eating

Most of us know that eating a varied, well-balanced diet is great for our health and helps protect against chronic disease. But it's not always easy to put that knowledge into practice.

Accredited Practising Dietitian Lauren Atkins shares her tips for success.

Get the basics right

The Australian Dietary Guidelines can help to guide overall food choices.

According to the guidelines, Australians should aim to include a variety of nutritious foods from each food group, including a variety of vegetables, wholegrains, fruit, proteins including lean meat, poultry, eggs, nuts seeds and legumes and dairy.

It’s also important to drink plenty of water and limit your intake of foods high in saturated fat, added salt and added sugar that do you more harm than good.

Preparation

Preparation is key, try to:

• Build your shopping list around the Australian Dietary Guidelines
• Walk the perimeter of the supermarket (most of the fresh produce will be here)
• Fill your fridge and pantry with the good stuff.

Fill your plate with goodness

When planning for meals, use the quarter, quarter, half model as a guide to building a balanced meal.

Drink water before meals

Try drinking a glass of water before you start eating - research shows we eat about 10 per cent less at meal times if we do.

Accredited Practising Dietitians can provide practical, tailored advice based on the latest science, and can help motivate and support you to take charge of what you eat. Visit the ‘Find an APD’ section of the Dietitians Association of Australia website.