Food Advice: Food Allergy Info | Nutritional Info

Eating a Healthy Diet

General guidelines for eating a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is one that is balanced and is based on eating a combination of food from the different food groups. The following chart shows the food groups in their ideal proportions. These food proportions will differ from person to person due to individual requirements and lifestyles e.g. for diabetics the intake of sugary foods will be very low, for anyone following a specific diet e.g. Atkins then food groups such as bread will be reduced.


Fruit and Vegetables 33% – 5 portions a day
Milk and dairy products 15%– 2-3 servings a day
Bread, other cereals and potatoes 33%
Meat, fish and alternatives 12% - 2 portions of fish
Fatty/sugary foods 8%

By following the Guidelines issued by the Government this balance can be achieved:

Enjoy your food
Eat a variety of different foods
Eat the right amount to be healthy weight
Eat plenty of foods rich in starch and fibre
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
Don’t eat too many foods that contain a lot of fat
Don’t have sugary foods and drinks too often
If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly

What does a Healthy Diet give me?

Energy

Everybody needs to consume a different amount of energy depending on their age and lifestyle. It is important not to exceed this requirement as this can result in excess energy being converted to fat. Ideally for a sedentary lifestyle women should be consuming no more than 2000 calories per day and men no more than 2500. For anyone undertaking intense exercise the energy intake requirement will obviously be higher as they are using more energy



Protein

Protein is needed for growth and repair of the body and the main sources include: meat, fish, cheese, cereals, nuts and pulses. Vegetarians need to ensure that they are getting their protein requirements as they are avoiding the high protein foods.



Carbohydrate

Provides a source of energy either from starchy foods (bread, potatoes, pasta, rice) or sugary foods (jam, confectionery, fruit, vegetables). For a balanced diet the suggestion is that the diet should be made up of a third of starchy foods, ideally ‘high fibre’ varieties. The amount of sugary foods consumed should be kept low as a high consumption can cause tooth decay. As a guide when looking at nutrition labels a ‘low’ sugar product contains less than 2g of sugar per 100g and a ‘high’ sugar product contains more than 10g of sugar per 100g.



Fat

It is essential that there is a small amount of fat in the diet but as fat is a concentrated source of energy then it should be eaten sparingly. There is a link with the increased consumption of saturated fat leading to high blood pressure and the risk of Heart Disease. Look for low fat or reduced fat alternatives and concentrate on increasing the amount of mono- and poly- unsaturated fats in the diet.

Women should be aiming for a maximum daily intake of 70g per day whilst men should have a maximum of 95g. A low fat product contains lees than 3g of fat per 100g and a high fat product contains more than 20g of fat per 100g.



Fibre

Fibre is found in cereal foods, beans, lentils fruit and vegetables. The recommended intake for adults is 18g per day, which is currently not being achieved. An increase in fibre in the diet is believed to relieve constipation and prevent particular cancers e.g. bowel cancer



Salt

The over consumption of salt can lead to high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. The population should be aiming to eat a 6g of salt per day but at the moment this figure is closer to 9g.

Consumers are advised to read the labels on packs to identify the ‘hidden’ salt in products such as cereals, biscuits, ready meals etc. A low salt product will contain less than 0.8g of salt per 100g and a high salt product will contain more than 3.8g per 100g.



Vitamins/Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are needed by the body in small amounts but are essential. These are all required in different amounts depending on age, lifestyle etc. and every vitamin or mineral has a Dietary Reference Value (DRV) to indicate how much should be consumed It is sometimes necessary to take supplements when an intake is too low or a vitamin/mineral is lacking in the diet e.g. iron for vegetarians.



Fruit and Vegetables

Many of the essential vitamins and minerals that are needed come from fruit and vegetables e.g. Vitamin A and C and it is these vitamins that are thought to have an antioxidant effect resulting in a reduced risk of cancer. At least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables should be consumed per day and these portions should be a combination of different fruit and vegetables. One portion is approximately 80g. Budgens identifies products ideal for achieving 5 a day with a ‘Take 5’ logo.


Budgens Nutrition Labelling

Budgens aims to give as much useful nutrition information as possible on the packaging of own label products, and that this information is easy to understand. The amount of information given is restricted by the size of the product’s packaging and the available space.

Where possible a full nutritional breakdown is given per 100g of product, if space is an issue then values for Energy, Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate will always be given. It is this 100g information that will identify those products that are high or low in a nutrient.

Nutrition information is also given per reasonable portion to make it clear the quantity of each nutrient that will be consumed if a portion is eaten. Guidelines are in place that advise how much Fat, Fibre, Salt and Calories should be consumed on a daily basis. Budgens labelling indicates what percentage of these Daily Allowances for women a reasonable portion of the product will give.

Nutrition Database

A nutrition database has been developed to help customers identify products for a particular diet before entering a store and having to look at a product’s packaging. By selecting particular nutrients of interest the consumer can print out a shopping list of product’s that are suitable to buy

Click here to use the database