Nutrition

1. Carbohydrates

Apart from potatoes, all the foods listed in this group began life as a grain, such as wheat, rye, corn, rice or barley. Potatoes and grains are very healthy and filling; however, you can be even healthier if you choose unrefined versions of these foods over refined versions.

Top tip If you decide to increase the amount of fibre you eat, try to drink more water too. Your body doesn’t digest fibre, so you need the extra water to help it flow through your digestive system with ease.

Refined carbohydrates refers to foods where machinery has been used to remove the high fibre bits (the bran and the germ) from the grain. White rice, white bread, sugary cereals, and pasta and noodles made from white flour are all examples of refined carbohydrates.

Unrefined carbohydrates still contain the whole grain, including the bran and the germ, so they’re higher in fibre and will keep you feeling fuller for longer – great if you’re trying to lose weight and hate feeling hungry. Examples include whole grain rice, wholemeal bread, porridge oats and whole wheat pasta.

2. Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are brimming with fibre, plus a whole range of vitamins and minerals, and because they’re low in calories, they make an important and healthy addition to any diet.

Five a day scientific studies have shown that people who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables may have a lower risk of getting illnesses, such as heart disease and some cancers. For this reason, health authorities recommend that you eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day – and it doesn’t matter whether they’re fresh, tinned, frozen, cooked, juiced or dried.

How much is a portion?

• One slice of large fruit, such as melon, mango or pineapple
• One handful of grapes or two handfuls of cherries or berry fruits
• An apple, peach, banana or orange
• One tablespoon of dried fruit
• A glass (roughly 100ml) of fruit juice
• A small tin (roughly 200g) of fruit
• A side salad
• A serving (roughly 100g) of vegetables – e.g., frozen or mushy peas, boiled carrots or stir- fried broccoli
• The vegetables served in a portion of vegetable curry, lasagne, stir-fry or casserole

3. Proteins

Protein plays an essential role in building and repairing your body. But whether it helps a fingernail to grow or heals a sore muscle it, depends on the make-up of the protein.

Proteins consist of smaller units called amino acids, which can link together in many combinations to form chains. Some amino acid chains are created by your body, but those called essential amino acids must come from your diet.

Although all animal and plant cells contain some protein, the amount and the quality of the protein varies a lot.

High biological value foods contain enough indispensable amino acids for an adult diet and are considered to be good quality protein. Meat, fish and eggs sit in this category.

Low biological value foods don’t contain enough indispensable amino acids. Plant foods, such as pulses, nuts and seeds, are in this group.

Health professionals recommend that protein makes up 10 to 15 per cent of your diet. They suggest men eat 55.5g protein a day and women eat 45g. In real terms, eating a moderate amount of protein – in one or two meals every day – should give you all the protein you need.

The need to eat protein every day is worth emphasising, because your body can’t store it – you can’t stock up on it by bingeing on protein once a week, for example.