We’ve all heard the saying: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But what does that really mean? There’s an intuitive link between diet and health. Research shows that a healthy diet prevents chronic diseases, promotes mental well-being, and supports healthy aging¹. Guidelines recommend eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts, while limiting processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats. Regular meals, including breakfast, while achieving energy balance is essential. A healthy diet balance physical and psychological functions, supports vitality, and reduces the risk of anxiety, depression, and age-related decline². Although more research is needed to personalize dietary recommendations based on individual needs, cultural contexts, and health goals play an important part. Today, we’ll cover a few key points: what “healthy” means, the “outline” of a healthy diet, and where your first priorities should lie.
What is “healthy”?
What is “healthy”? Let’s take a step back. “Health” is defined as “the ability to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical, and emotional challenges” ³. To be healthy means being capable of adapting and self-managing. This leads into the concept of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in their ability to achieve a goal or execute a course of action⁴. A health-promoting diet gives individuals the tools to adapt and self-manage.
This may sound odd, so let’s use an example. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recommends consuming 350-500g of unprocessed red meat per week and avoiding processed meat where possible ⁵. There is strong evidence that both red meat and processed meat contribute to colorectal cancer. Cancer severely limits a person’s ability to adapt and self-manage in social, physical, and emotional challenges.
Energy availability is another important factor in determining what is “healthy.” Overconsumption of fruits and vegetables can lead to excess adiposity (fat gain), limiting adaptability. Excess adiposity has negative metabolic effects, which reduces the ability to adapt. With that in mind, let’s explore what a healthy diet looks like in practice.
A healthy diet at a glance:
There seem to be some keystone characteristics to healthy diets: including high consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; moderate consumption of dairy products, fish, and poultry; and low consumption of sugars, saturated fat, and processed foods. Close to home, The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends the five following guidelines, of which we will focus on guidelines 1 – 3⁶.
- To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet your energy needs
- Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five groups every day:
- Plenty of vegetables, including different types and colours, and legumes/beans
- Fruit
- Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties, such as breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley
- Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans
- Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat (reduced fat milks are not suitable for children under the age of 2 years)
- Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol
We can see that a “healthy” diet shares some common features, and they can be neatly wrapped up in the following: maintain a healthy energy balance (we recommend the following energy calculator) and consume a primarily a plant-based whole-food diet alongside primarily lean sources of protein⁶.
Where your priorities should be:
If you find the idea of starting with an energy calculator intimidating, we recommend at starting with the following low-hanging fruit (pun intended):
- Find lean cuts of protein you enjoy and can base the majority of your meal “templates” around: this can include lean cuts of meat, poultry, white fish and some meat-alternatives
- Ensure each meal involves plenty of vegetables and complex carbohydrates
- Find snacks you can enjoy throughout the day that provide opportunities to consume more foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and diary. Conveniently, nuts, seeds and fruits are easy to store and sources of dairy such as yoghurt can be purchased in single serve pouches.
- Limit foods containing saturated fat, added salt and sugars and excessive alcohol.
It’s very rare that someone needs to “revamp” their entire diet. More often than not we find individuals are just making some key mistakes. For instance, someone might consume a relatively “healthy” diet but consumes a litre of sweet, iced tea daily (yep, this happens!) That excess sugar is not only unhealthy, but also causing an excess in energy intake, causing this individual to pile on more body weight. Swapping the iced tea out for a sugar free alternative or at least smaller volumes of iced tea (and perhaps another drink such as water) can make large changes over time to someone’s health, especially if those changes result in losing excess body fat
Diet is a lifestyle, not a fad or phase
In conclusion, a healthy diet plays a crucial role in overall well-being. It helps prevent chronic diseases, supports mental health, and promotes healthy ageing. By focusing on a balanced intake of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, we can better manage our energy levels and improve physical function. Small adjustments, like swapping sugary drinks for healthier options, can lead to long-term benefits. Prioritizing nutrient-rich foods and limiting processed items will improve our health. Ultimately, making small, sustainable changes in our diet allows us to feel more energized, manage our weight, and improve self-efficacy. Consistency is key. Take literally, one step at a time as it can lead to lasting improvements. If you’re not sure where to start, contact us today and we’ll get you dialled in.