Eat Well, Your Way helps you with how to do this, but if you need a little more information on why you should eat a healthy balanced diet, this page could help. 

Trying to make healthier food and drink choices is not easy, in amongst busy lives, with lots going on. It's easiest to make a change when something is important to you and you are confident that you can. The tips on this website might help you decide on one or two small changes you can make.

The two biggest parts of your diet should be starchy foods and fruit & vegetables

You also need some protein foods as part of a healthy balanced diet.

Starchy foods

These foods should make up just over a third of all the food that you eat. 

• Starchy foods are things like different breads, pasta, rice and potatoes, noodles, barley, couscous, corn, plantain, sorghum and tapioca
• Cereals and porridge oats are also types of starchy foods
• Choosing wholegrain varieties of these starchy foods, and keeping the skin on your potatoes, can provide even more vitamins, minerals and fibre, and can help to keep you feeling full
• Some types of fibre, such as the fibre in oats, can help improve cholesterol levels

Because these foods are good for filling you up, choosing to eat these as a main part of your meals can mean you are less likely to eat foods which are high in fat, sugar and salt.

Fruit and vegetables

These make up another third of all the food that you eat. This means aiming to eat at least 5 portions of fruit or vegetables each day.

This might sound like a lot, but when included within your meals, such as in your cereal, sandwiches, in soup or a stew, this goal can be achievable.

You can use a variety of fresh, frozen or canned fruit and vegetables, they all count. Up to 150ml of fruit/vegetable juice or smoothie also counts, but only once a day, as these contain free sugars which can damage teeth. 

Starchy foods and fruit & vegetables provide a wide range of vitamins and minerals, which are essential to support the way your body functions

These foods also provide a nutrient called fibre, which helps to keep your bowels healthy

Other food groups and drinks

Protein foods help your body grow and repair itself

Protein foods include beans, pulses such as lentils and chickpeas, meat, fish, eggs and meat alternatives such as tofu and unsweetened, calcium-fortified plant based drinks.

Dairy and alternatives are an important source of calcium to help keep bones strong

Milk and dairy foods, including dairy alternatives, such as yogurt and cheese contain protein, vitamins and minerals. 

A small amount of fat from oils and spreads can be included in a healthy balanced diet

It is important to keep these foods to a minimum, as these fats are very high in energy.

We should aim to have around 6-8 glasses of fluids a day

It is important to stay hydrated to maintain healthy joints, regulate body temperature and  remove waste products from our body. You may need to drink more if you lose fluids through sweat due to exercise or heat.

Eat fewer foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar

These are foods like sweets, chocolate, crisps, pastries, biscuits and sugary drinks and should be kept to a minimum in a healthy balanced diet. Eating too much fat, salt and sugar can lead to health problems, including weight gain and heart disease. Reducing the amount you eat, and how often you do eat these, can help you to achieve a healthier diet.

A maximum intake of 6g of salt a day 

Too much salt can cause raised blood pressure, which can increase your risk of heart disease.

Children over the age of 2 can usually eat the same type of healthy balanced diet as adults. However, there are a few extra things to keep in mind.

• Children should have even fewer foods like sweets, chocolate, crisps, pastries, biscuits and sugary drinks than adults
• Children need very little salt, so choose the lowest salt possible products you can
• Children can have wholegrain foods, but they can make them very full, so for under fives, try a mixture of wholegrain and white starchy foods
• Tap water and milk are the best drinks for children. Choose semi-skimmed milk until children are 5, then they can move onto skimmed milk.

Supplements to a healthy balanced diet for children

It is recommended that all children aged 6 months to 5 years are given a daily vitamin supplement that contains vitamins A, C and D. Vitamin supplements may be provided by your health visitor, and can be purchased from most supermarkets, pharmacies or online. If you are not sure which supplements to give your child, ask your health visitor, GP or pharmacist for information.

Other help giving your children a healthy balanced diet

Best Start Foods is paid to help you buy healthy foods for you and your children up to age 3 years. You can get Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods:

• if your child is the right age for a payment
• whether you're in work or not, as long as you're on certain payments or benefits
• as long as you're the parent of a child, or the main person looking after the child

https://www.mygov.scot/best-start-grant-best-start-foods

Parent Club offers up-to-date guidance from the Scottish Government on your child’s health and education. It’s full of hints and tips from other parents and carers who’ve been there before. It also has advice to help you look after your own wellbeing and to point you in the direction of the support available.

https://www.parentclub.scot/ 

Eatwell Everyday

Food Standards Scotland’s Eatwell Everyday resource shows you how you and your family can eat more healthily, bringing together all the recommendations for a healthy balanced diet including two examples of a week’s meal plan. Click here to learn how you can use Eatwell Everyday.