What does a healthy diet look like?


The Eatwell guide shows how much we should eat of each food group overall 
to achieve a healthy balanced diet
.


Tips to get more 
fibre 
and plants in your diet
and reduce sugar 
intake


•
Choose a higher
-
fibre 
breakfast cereal such as plain wholewheat biscuits 
(like Weetabix) or plain shredded whole grain (like Shredded wheat), or 
porridge as oats are also a good source of 
fibre
.
•
Go for 
wholemeal 
or granary breads, or higher 
fibre 
white bread, and 
choose wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice.
•
Go for potatoes with their skins on, such as a baked potato or boiled new 
potatoes.
•
Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads.
•
Include plenty of vegetables with meals, either as a side dish or added to 
sauces, stews or curries.
•
Have some fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert.
•
Stir in sauces, ready meals, condiments and sauces such as tomato 
ketchup are high in sugar 
– 
look for low sugar alternatives and try to avoid 
having them often.
(look for the traffic light labels)


More information


Google: the gut health doctor 30 plant points 
to see a list of all the 
different foods that count as ‘plant based’.


Google: British heart foundation cutting back on suga
r for more tips.


Healthy snack ideas


Fresh or tinned fruit (in juice not syrup)


Mixed nuts


Rice cakes with cream cheese


Oatcakes


Plain/ low in sugar popcorn


Low in sugar yoghurt


Vegetable sticks and hummus





Add more fibre and plant based foods


Increasing 
fibre 
intake


Adults need 30g of 
fibre 
a day as part of a healthy diet 
- 
most adults are 
eating approximately 20g of 
fibre 
a day.


Why do we need 
fibre
?


1.
Fibre 
helps to keep our digestive system healthy and prevents 
constipation.
2.
A diet high in 
fibre 
lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 
diabetes and bowel cancer.
3.
Research shows that the ‘good’ bacteria which lives in our gut is very 
important for our overall physical and mental health. 
Fibre 
provides 
food for these ‘good’ bacteria and helps them grow and multiply.


Eat as many plant based foods as you can


Evidence shows that there are huge health benefits to eating lots of plant 
based foods.


1.
Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals, 
including folate, vitamin C and potassium.
2.
They're an excellent source of dietary 
fibre
, which can help to 
maintain a healthy gut and prevent constipation and other digestion 
problems. A diet high in 
fibre 
can also reduce your risk of bowel 
cancer.
3.
They can help to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and some 
types of cancer.
4.
They can make you feel full without contributing to big spikes and dips 
in your blood sugar levels, therefore improving 
overall energy 
levels.
•
New research has found that to 
optimise 
our health we should be 
eating 30 different types of plant based foods a week. Although this 
sounds difficult, lots of foods are ‘plant based’ and there are lots of 
small things you can do to increase the number of plants in your diet.


Reduce high sugar and ultra
-
processed foods


Cut down on added sugars


Why?


1.
Too much sugar can lead to weight gain and obesity which is a risk factor for 
coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
2.
Eating foods that are high in sugar causes our energy levels to spike and crash. 
Reducing your sugar intake can help to improve your energy levels throughout the 
day.
3.
Too much sugar can lead to tooth decay.
•
Added sugars such as table sugar, honey and syrups should not make up more than 
5% of your diet. That’s about 30g a day.
•
Use the traffic light food labels to give you an idea of how much sugar is in what 
you’re eating.
Aim for all ‘green’ and ‘amber’ labels.


Reducing the amount of ultra
-
processed food


•
Ultra
-
processed foods are highly altered and typically contain a lot of added salt, 
sugar, saturated fat, and industrial chemical additives. Scientists have shown that 
eating a lot of ultra
-
processed food is not good for your health.
•
A diet high in ultra
-
processed foods has been linked to heart disease, weight gain 
and cancer.
•
These foods are very calorie
-
dense and don’t contain many, if any, valuable 
nutrients.
•
Examples of ultra processed foods:
Sausages, ham, chicken nuggets, crisps, ice 
cream, biscuits, ready meals, takeaways, breakfast cereals, instant soups.


Find out more on the British heart foundation website and search for ultra processed 
foods.