WHAT IS HEALTHY EATING?
Healthy eating and drinking is an important part of looking after your health and your heart.

You can enjoy a healthy balanced diet simply by following these five tips:
Eat a variety of foods from the five food groups
Include vegetables, whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds every day
Choose healthier fats and oils
Limit sugary, fatty and salty take-away meals and snacks
Drink mainly water.

Fruits & vegetables
Why do I need them?
One of the easiest and tastiest ways to stay healthy is to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Aim to eat a variety of at least 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit every day. Fruit and vegetables contain lots of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Which ones should I eat?
Fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruit and vegetables all count towards your daily quota. Look for seasonal varieties which will be fresher and cheaper. Frozen vegetables are ideal if you don’t have time to shop regularly and they are just as healthy as fresh vegetables.

How can I add more to my healthy eating routine?Include fruit in your breakfast, try snacking on raw veggies or fruit, and add a serve of vegetables to each main meal. Click here for delicious vegetable dinner recipes.

Healthy heart tip Frozen vegetables are very convenient and just as healthy and nutritious as fresh vegetables. Steamers and microwaves are a great way to cook vegetables because they help to retain important vitamins and minerals. Non-stick frying pans and woks require less oils and oil sprays helps to reduce the amount used - look for those with the Tick to make sure you are using a healthier oil. what wedding garment to wear for a busty brides

Grain (cereal) foods

Cereal grains include: wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats, rye, millet, polenta, cous cous and quinoa. These cereal grains are used to make foods like bread, breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, and noodles. Wholegrain varieties are the healthier choice as they provide more fiber, vitamins and minerals than refined ‘white’ grains and products such as white flour, white rice or pasta.

Eating grain foods, mostly wholegrain, can help protect against heart disease and other chronic disease like type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

How much should I eat?The amount of grain foods recommended varies depending on your age, gender and activity levels. Visit the Australian Dietary Guidelines ( www.eatforhealth.org.au ) or speak to an Accredited Practising Dietitian for more information on the number of serves right for you. Generally speaking, most adults should aim for 4-6 serves of grain foods, mostly wholegrain varieties.

What is a serve of grain (cereal) foods?
1 slice (40g) bread
1 medium (40g) roll or flat bread
1 cup (75-120g) cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, buckwheat, semolina, polenta, bulgur or quinoa
½ cup (120g) cooked porridge
2/3 cup (30g) wheat cereal flakes
¼ cup (30g) muesli
3 (35g) crispbreads
1 (60g) crumpet
1 small (35g) English muffin or scone
Aim for four to six serves, mostly wholegrain per day.
Not all grain foods are equalSome grain foods have high amounts of added saturated fat, added sugar, added salt and not much fibre, vitamins or minerals (i.e. refined). These include most cakes, muffins, pies, pastries and biscuits. These foods should be limited – choose only sometimes and in small amounts.

Why choose wholegrains?Wholegrain cereals include all the parts of the natural grain. They contain more fiber and other nutrients than white or refined starchy foods. That means they retain all of their nutrients including dietary fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E and the healthier fats.

Choosing wholegrain options also helps to keep your digestive system healthy.

Here are some of the wholegrain you might like to try:
Oats / Porridge
Popcorn
Brown rice
Barley
Wild rice
Buckwheat
Quinoa
Whole wheat including bulgur/ cracked wheat
Millet
How can I add more wholegrain into my meals and snacks?
Try a wholegrain or high fibre breakfast cereal like rolled oats or porridge for your breakfast.
Swap white bread for wholemeal. Look for the words ‘wholegrain’ or ‘wholemeal’ on the label.
Try brown rice instead of white – look for quick-cook brown rice which can be simple and easy to prepare.
Choose wholegrain crackers instead of flavoured crackers.
Try wholemeal pasta.
Bread and Breakfast CerealsBread and Breakfast Cereals may be a food you and your family eat most regularly. Not all products are made the same so it’s important to choose the healthier varieties.
What should you look out for? The Heart Foundation recommends choosing breads that are lower in salt (sodium) and higher in fiber e.g. made from wholegrains, wholemeal flour and breads that contain seeds. So when comparing nutritional information panels, choose breads with sodium 400mg or less per 100g and fiber 4g or more per 100g.

The Heart Foundation recommends choosing breakfast cereals that are lower in salt and saturated fat, and higher in fiber and wholegrains. Use the per 100g column on the nutrition label to compare products, or look for the Tick.

Healthy heart tipVariety is the key to a balanced diet. When planning your meals for the week, make sure you include a variety of foods. If you have pasta one night, go for brown rice, couscous or potatoes another night. Remember to watch your portion size and don’t forget to include the veggies!

Carbohydrates and sugars

Many people think of rice, potatoes and pasta as 'carbs' but that's only a few examples of the huge range of foods that contain carbohydrates. All fruit and vegetables, all breads and grain (cereals) products, sugar and sugary foods contain carbohydrates.

Choosing the healthier carbohydrates is common sense. Fresh fruit and veggies, wholegrain breads, wholegrain cereals and pastas are all healthy foods and form part of a healthy eating pattern.

Not all carbohydrates are equalSome grain (cereal) foods, which contain carbohydrates, have high amounts of added saturated fat, added sugar, added salt and not much fiber, vitamins or minerals. These include most cakes, muffins, pies, pastries and biscuits. These foods should be limited – choose only sometimes and in small amounts.
Why choose wholegrain?Wholegrain cereals include all the parts of the natural grain. They contain more fiber and other nutrients than white or refined starchy foods. That means they retain all of their nutrients including dietary fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E and the healthier fats.
Choosing wholegrain options also helps to keep your digestive system healthy.
Sugar Carbohydrates are made of long chains of simple sugars. Thus sugar is a type of carbohydrate, needed by our body for energy. It may be called different names e.g. sucrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, maltose, dextrose, raw sugar, cane sugar, malt extract and molasses.

Sugar in food and drinks can be naturally occurring, for example in fruit and dairy products, or added during processing, for example in confectionery, cakes, biscuits and sauces. Some healthy, core foods contain added sugars for flavor or food technology reasons, for example in flavored yoghurt and some breakfast cereals.

What’s the evidence around sugar?The Australian Government’s NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research Council) recently reviewed all available evidence to update the Australian Dietary Guidelines and concluded that sugar as an individual nutrient was important in relation to dental caries, and sugary drinks can increase the risk of weight gain in adults and children.

Where do we get most of our sugar from? The majority of ‘added’ sugar in the Australia diet comes from discretionary foods such as cakes, biscuits, pastries and sugary drinks. It is sensible to reduce the consumption of these discretionary foods which are a source of excess added sugar and energy. The Heart Foundation recommends that these foods are limited in a heart healthy diet.

According to the 2011/12 National Nutrition Survey, the top five sources of total sugar in the Australian diet are:
Fruit products and dishes
Cereal based products and dishes – including sweet biscuits, cakes, muffins*
Soft drinks, flavored mineral waters, electrolyte, fortified and energy drinks*
Sugar products and dishes*
Dairy products and dishes
* denotes added sugar, as opposed to naturally occurring sugar

What the Heart Foundation recommendsThe Heart Foundation recommends that a heart healthy diet is one that is plant-based and includes a wide variety of fruit, vegetables, legumes and wholegrain which are good quality sources of carbohydrates.

The Heart Foundation recommends limiting 'extra’ or ‘sometimes’ foods that are high in sugar such as sugar sweetened soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, cordials, confectionery, sweet biscuits and cakes, etc.

Limiting excess energy (kilojoules) intake, in the form of added sugar and sugary drinks, can help to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, which is an important risk factor for heart disease.

What can I do?Choose a variety of foods from the five food groups, and limit foods like cakes, confectionary, biscuits and sugary drinks. See our healthy eating tips for more information.

Consider the whole food when considering added sugar. Added sugar in milk or yoghurt may help to increase intake, particularly in children and teenagers – which is important as milk and yoghurt are nutritious foods essential to the diets of growing kids. However, products like sugary drinks which have a lot of added sugar and provide no nutritional benefit to the diet are not a good choice.

What is the Heart Foundation doing?The Heart Foundation, in partnership with the Cancer Council Victoria and Diabetes Australia is raising awareness about the health consequences of drinking sugary drinks. Visit Rethink Sugary Drink to find our more.
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