Guide to nutrition
The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend eating a variety of nutritious foods from the following five food groups every day, to maintain your health and wellbeing.
1. Dairy
Each day you need 2.5 serves of reduced-fat dairy (3 for teenagers or breastfeeding mums and 4 for women over 50). What's a serve?
- 1 cup (250ml) skim, no-fat or low-fat dairy or soy milk
- ½ cup (125ml) low-fat evaporated milk
- ¾ cup (200g) low-fat natural yoghurt
- 2 slices (40g) reduced-fat hard cheese
- ½ cup (120g) low-fat or reduced-fat ricotta or cottage cheese
2. Fruit
Each day you need 2 serves of fruit. What's a serve?
- 2 small pieces of fruit (such as plums, apricots, mandarins or kiwifruit)
- 1 medium-sized piece of fruit (such as an apple, banana, orange or pear)
- 1 small bunch of grapes
- 1 cup chopped fresh fruit salad
- 1 cup canned fruit (no added sugar)
3. Vegetables
Each day you need at least 5 serves of vegetables. What's a serve?
- ½ cup cooked vegetables
- 1 small (or half a medium) potato
- 1 cup raw salad vegetables
- ½ cup (85g) cooked dried or canned beans or lentils
4. Cereals & grains
Each day you need 3-6 serves of cereals/grains (preferably wholegrains). What's a serve?
- 1 slice (40g) wholemeal or wholegrain bread
- ½ medium (40g) wholemeal or wholegrain bread roll
- ½ cup (75–120g) cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, quinoa or polenta
- ½ cup (120g) cooked porridge
- ⅔ cup (30g) wheat cereal flakes
- 2 (30g) wheat-flake or oat-flake breakfast biscuits
- ¼ cup (30g) natural (untoasted) muesli
5. Lean protein
Each day you need 2-3 serves of lean protein. What's a serve?
- 65g cooked lean beef, lamb, veal or pork (90–100g raw)
- 80g cooked lean poultry (100g raw)
- 100g cooked fish fillet (115g raw)
- 2 large eggs
- 170g tofu
- 30g nuts, seeds or peanut/ almond butter
- 1 cup cooked legumes (such as lentils, chickpeas or cannellini beans)
Stay hydrated
Drink 6-8 non-alcoholic drinks a day (water is ideal) as it helps you stay hydrated and can also help you feel full.
If you drink alcohol, try to stick to no more than 2 standard alcoholic drinks a day and aim for at least two alcohol-free days a week.