About Healthy Eating

What is healthy eating?  The answer will probably be different depending who you ask or where you go to find information.  When my daughter was learning about diet and nutrition in her year three class at school they were looking at the healthy diet pyramid, which I remember learning about when I was at school, and nothing much has changed.  The diet pyramid most often depicted in books and on web-site looks something like the ones below:

Healthy Living Pyramid - Nutrition Australia

  

The Food Pyramid - US Department of Agriculture

The top pyramid is from the Nutrition Australia website and is a more elaborate version of the USDA one below it.  I found the USDA pyramid on a Diabetes website which I found interesting considering it recommends 2 - 3 servings per day from the 'Milk, Yoghurt & Cheese' group which, from the illustrations, seems to include ice cream and chocolate milkshakes!

These standard diet pyramids are an OK start I guess, but personally I think they advocate far too much animal protein and are not a great guide for truly healthy eating.

Another diet pyramid that is getting more press these days is the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, based on the traditional diet of the Mediterranean region.  This pyramid (two different versions are shown below) advocates a much higher intake of fresh fruit and vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains, especially whole grains.   Dairy is eaten in moderation and predominantly as yoghurt or cheese, and red meat is eaten very infrequently.  The diet also has a high intake of good oils, like olive oil.

Interestingly, if you look at any traditional diet, the same recommendations would apply.  You can see an example of this in the Asian diet pyramid below:

I would highly recommend having a look at the Oldways website for more information.  They also have pyramids based on the traditional African and Latino diets.

Basically, if we make fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes and healthy oils the basis of our diet, we are off to a good start.  Eating good quality seafood and organic meats once or twice a week can also be part of a healthy diet.  Red meat, refined carbohydrates and processed dairy products should only be a very minor part of a healthy diet, and we can manage well without them at all.

Moderation is the best option, and everyone needs to find their own balance.  A good way to begin is by introducing more vegetarian meals and learning to cook with sometimes unfamiliar ingredients, like lentils, pulses and whole grains.  Hopefully the recipes on this blog will be a helpful place to start.