Catherine Saxelby's Foodwatch | Dietary Guidelines revision 2011

Dietary Guidelines revision 2011

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Dietary Guidelines revision 2011
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The Dietary Guidelines - spelling out what foods Australians should eat - are being updated to reflect the latest knowledge on nutrition, diet and health. This latest 2011 revision has focused on food choice recommendations rather than on how much of certain nutrients you should consume, which was the approach of the 2003 version of the Dietary Guidelines. It runs for 288 pages with over 1,000 references. Here's a handy summary and a list of what's changed.

 

 

What are the Dietary Guidelines about?

The Dietary Guidelines have information about the types and amounts of foods, food groups and dietary patterns that aim to:

• promote health and wellbeing;
• reduce the risk of diet-related conditions, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity; and
• reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some types of cancers.

Devised by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC), they apply to all healthy Australians, as well as those with common health conditions such as being overweight. They do NOT apply to people who need special dietary advice for a medical condition, or to the frail elderly.

Who are they meant for?

The Dietary Guidelines are for use by health professionals, policy makers, educators, food manufacturers, food retailers and researchers, so they can find ways to help Australians eat healthy diets.

 

Here are the 5 Guidelines as they appear on the EatforHealth website:

Guideline 1

Eat 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, such as breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley
• lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, 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).

and drink water.

Guideline 2

Limit intake of foods and drinks containing saturated and trans fats, added salt, added sugars and alcohol.

a. Limit intake of foods and drinks containing saturated and trans fats

• Include small amounts of foods that contain unsaturated fats
• Low-fat diets are not suitable for infants.

b. Limit intake of foods and drinks containing added salt

• Read labels to choose lower sodium options among similar foods.
• Do not add salt to foods.

c. Limit intake of foods and drinks containing added sugars. In particular, limit sugar-sweetened drinks.

d. If you choose to drink alcohol, limit intake.

 

Guideline 3

To achieve and maintain a healthy weight you should be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet your energy needs.

• Children and adolescents should eat sufficient nutritious foods to grow and develop normally. They should be physically active every day and their growth should be checked regularly.
• Older people should eat nutritious foods and keep physically active to help maintain muscle strength and a healthy weight.

Guideline 4

Encourage and support breastfeeding.

Breast milk is best for baby and for mother.

 

Guideline 5

Care for your food: prepare and store it safely.