Nutrition 101
Eating well doesn’t have to be complicated or confusing. Understanding the building blocks of food and calculating the energy your body needs is a great place to start.
The 5 building blocks of food
Different foods contain different essential nutrients and eating a wide variety of nutritious foods is the key to building a solid foundation of health.
Fruit is the sweet, fleshy, edible part of a plant that usually contains seeds. It is generally eaten raw but some varieties can also be cooked. Choosing fruits in season provides better value and better quality. Eating seasonally also adds more variety to your diet throughout the year. Choosing different coloured fruits increases the variety of nutrients, which can enhance your health!
- Abundant in vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals
- Different coloured fruits, especially orange, red and yellow contain carotenes (Vitamin A) which are also thought to assist in immune function
Can reduce the risk of developing:
- Cardiovascular conditions
- High blood pressure.
- Some cancers
Most fruits are low in energy (kilojoules) and high in fibre and water, making you feel fuller.
Apples
Pears
Oranges
Mandarins
Grapefruit
Apricots
Cherries
Peaches
Nectarines
Plums
Bananas
Paw paw
Mangoes
Pineapple
Melons
Grapes
Passionfruit
Vegetables and legumes/beans
Vegetables come from many different parts of the plant, including the leaves, roots, tubers, flowers, stems, seeds and shoots.
Legumes are the seeds of the plant and are eaten in their immature form as green peas and beans, and the mature form as dried peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas. Just like fruits, choosing different coloured vegetables increases the variety of nutrients, which can enhance your health!
- All vegetables contain vitamin C
- Folate
- Magnesium
- Dietary fibre
- A range of phytochemicals including carotenoids
Can reduce the risk of developing:
- Site specific cancers
- Cardiovascular disease
- Colorectal cancer
Vegetables, including legumes/beans are low in kilojoules, and a good source of minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre that can help keep you healthier.
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Bok choy
Cabbages
Cauliflower
Kale
Lettuce
Silverbeet
Spinach
Snow peas
Potato
Cassava
Sweet potato
Taro
Carrots
Beetroot
Onions
Shallots
Garlic
Bamboo shoots
Swede
Turnip
Red kidney beans
Soybeans
Lima beans
Cannellini beans
Chickpeas
Lentils
Split peas
Tofu
Tomato
Celery
Sprouts
Zucchini
Squash
Avocado
Capsicum
Eggplant
Mushrooms
Cucumber
Okra
Pumpkin
Green peas
Green beans
Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, legumes/beans
Traditionally, the foods from this food group are considered ‘protein rich’ and most Australians have no trouble eating enough protein each day. More importantly however, this food group also provides a wide variety of other nutrients such as: iodine, iron, zinc, vitamins, especially B12, and essential fatty acids.
- Lean red meats: iron, zinc and B12 and are easily absorbed.
- Legumes provide many of the same nutrients as lean meats, poultry, fish and eggs and are essential in vegetarian and vegan eating patterns to get enough of the key nutrients found in this food group.
Make sure you eat a variety from this food group, and not just red meat, to get the full range of health benefits. Include some legumes/beans for an inexpensive, higher fibre and lower saturated fat source of protein.
Beef
Lamb
Veal
Pork
Kangaroo,
Lean (lower salt) sausages
Chicken
Turkey
Duck
Emu
Goose
Bush birds
Fish
Prawns
Crab
Lobster
Mussels
Oysters
Scallops
Clams
Chicken eggs
Duck eggs
Almonds
Pine nuts
Walnut
Macadamia
Hazelnut
Cashew
Peanut
Nut spreads
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Brazil nuts
All beans
Lentils
Chickpeas
Split peas
Tofu.
Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives
A wide range of milk and yoghurt products are available with varying levels of fat. Milk can be fresh, dried, evaporated, or UHT (long life). Soy, rice or other cereal drinks and yoghurts are an alternative.
Because cheese can be high in kilojoules, saturated fat and salt, it is best to limited to 2-3 times a week.
- Calcium
- Protein
- Iodine
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Riboflavin
- Vitamin B12
- Zinc
Low or reduced fat milk, yoghurt and cheese choices are recommended for most people two years and over.
Milk, cheese and yoghurt provide calcium in a readily absorbable and convenient form but are also a good source of many other nutrients and provide various health benefits.
All reduced fat or full cream milks
Plain and flavoured
Long life milks
Powdered milk
Evaporated milk
Soy beverages (fortified with at least 100mg calcium/100mL)
All yoghurts including reduced fat or full cream
Plain and flavoured
Soy yoghurt (calcium fortified)
All hard cheeses
Reduced or full fat for example cheddar
Red Leicester
Gloucester
Edam
Gouda
Soy cheeses (calcium fortified).
Grain (cereal foods)
Grain foods are mostly made from wheat, oats, rice, rye, barley, millet, quinoa and corn. The different grains can be cooked and eaten whole, ground into flour to make a variety of cereal foods like bread, pasta and noodles, or made into ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.
- Carbohydrates/starch (energy)
- protein
- Fibre
- A wide range of vitamins and minerals including the B vitamins folate, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, iron, vitamin E, zinc, magnesium and phosphorus.
Can reduce the risk of developing:
- Coronary heart disease
- Colon cancer
- Diabetes
- Diverticular disease
High fibre grains take longer to digest and create a feeling of fullness, which discourages overeating.
Wholemeal
Wholegrain
White
Rye
Pita
Lavash
Naan
Focaccia
Crisp breads
Damper
Ready to eat, high fibre:
(wholegrain) oats
Porridge
Muesli
Wholewheat biscuits
Rice
Barley
Corn
Polenta
Buckwheat
Spelt
Millet
Sorghum
Triticale
Rye
Quinoa
Semolina
Pasta
Noodles
English muffin
Crumpet
Rice cakes
Couscous
Bulgur
Popcorn
Flour
It depends. Cooking can damage some of the nutrients in vegetables but in some cases, like when cooking tomatoes, it may actually increase nutrients.
Tip: Wash or scrub instead of peeling since lots of nutrients are close to the surface.
Legumes and beans count as vegetables because they are excellent sources of nutrients such as dietary fibre, folate and potassium. Legumes and beans can be dried or canned.
Tip: When using canned legumes and beans, remember to rinse before using.
The nutrient value of a food is retained when it is frozen. Keeping a supply of frozen vegetables means you’ll always have some on hand to add to your meals.
Tip: Check the ingredient list and choose frozen produce without added salt, sugar or fat.
To compare fruit and vegetables to processed foods, work out the cost per kilogram. For example: Fresh bananas and apples cost $3-$5/kg vs. Processed fruit straps cost about $45/kg.
Tip: If the store label shows the cost per 100g just multiply by 10.
Juices provide energy (kilojoules) but most lack dietary fibre. Remember that adults need no more than two serves of fruit a day.
Tip: It’s easy to consume a large volume of liquid quickly, so be sure to think about the volume of juice you consume.
The amount of fruit and vegetables that an individual needs depends on their sex, age and whether or not a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding.
Tip: See How much do we need each day to find out how much fruit and vegetables you need.
Guidelines
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 the Five Food Groups every day and drink plenty of water. Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol
Healthy Choices
Becoming more aware of your food choices and the effects these choices have on your body puts you in the ‘driver’s seat’ of your own health. From serving size knowledge to food label mastery, these knowledge nuggets and food hacks add up.
Healthy Choices
Eating healthier with the Health Star Rating system
The Health Star Rating system is a simple way to make Healthier.Happier. food choices. You’ll see the new panel on the front of many packaged grocery items. It features a rating between ½ and 5 stars. The more stars, the healthier the choice! With the Health Star Rating, you can compare similar foods’ nutritional information instantly, which makes healthy eating quicker and easier than ever before.
Find out more about the Health Star Rating system at www.healthstarrating.gov.au
Healthy Choices
Demystifying food labels
Life is busy and reading food labels is often put in the ‘too hard’ shopping basket. But anyone can become a food label wiz – you just have to know what to look for. We’ve highlighted the important parts on the nutrition information panel so that you can quickly compare foods, check kilojoules and make the healthiest choice for you.
Healthy Choices
Understanding the ingredients panel
Hidden ingredients
Beware! Manufacturers sometimes list fat, sugar or salt content under different names but whatever they’re called, high fat, sugar and salt content generally means the food is less healthy.
Based on information provided by the Heart Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Healthy food hacks
Get healthier instantly with these ingredient swaps that cut kilojoules and saturated fat while bumping up the flavour, fibre and goodness.
Guidelines
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 the Five Food Groups every day and drink plenty of water. Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol
