EAT FOR HEALTH
                                                                                                Australian
                                                                                                Dietary
                                                                                                Guidelines
                                                                                                summary
                         www.nhmrc.gov.au
                       www.eatforhealth.gov.au
                      GPO Box 1421, Canberra ACT 2601
                    16 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra City ACT
        T. 13 000 NHMRC (13 000 64672) or +61 2 6217 9000   F. 61 2 6217 9100   E. nhmrc@nhmrc.gov.au
                  EAT FOR HEALTH
                   Australian  
              Dietary Guidelines
                     summARy
                       2013
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         AustrAliAn DietAry GuiDelines summAry
             © Commonwealth of Australia 2013
             Paper-based publication
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             ISBN Print: 1864965770
             © Commonwealth of Australia 2013
             Electronic document
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             form for your own personal use or, if you are part of an organisation, for internal use within your organisation, but 
             only if you or your organisation do not use the reproduction for any commercial purpose and retain this copyright 
             notice and all disclaimer notices as part of that reproduction. Apart from rights to use as permitted by the Copyright 
             Act 1968 or allowed by this copyright notice, all other rights are reserved and you are not allowed to reproduce 
             the whole or any part of this work in any way (electronic or otherwise) without first being given the specific written 
             permission from the Commonwealth to do so. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights are to be 
             sent to Strategic Communications, National Health and Medical Research Council, GPO Box 1421, Canberra ACT 
             2600 or via email to nhmrc.publications@nhmrc.gov.au.
             ISBN Online: 1864965789
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             Indigenous Affairs.
             Email: nhmrc.publications@nhmrc.gov.au 
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             NHMRC Publication reference: N55a
             Published: February 2013
                                                                           AustrAliAn DietAry GuiDelines summAry
             Contents
             Introduction                                                                             1
             Australian Guide to Healthy Eating                                                       4
             Australian Dietary Guidelines                                                            5
             Quiz: Are you eating for health?                                                         6
             Guideline 1   To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and choose 
                          amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet your energy needs             7
                          •	 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 2   Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five food groups  
                          every day:                                                                 12
                          •	 Plenty of vegetables of different types and colours, and legumes/beans
                          •	 Fruit
                          •	 Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties, such as  
                            breads, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley
                          •	 Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans
                          •	 Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat 
                          And drink plenty of water.
             Guideline 3  Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars 
                          and alcohol                                                                28
                          a.  Limit intake of foods high in saturated fat such as many biscuits, cakes, pastries,  
                             pies, processed meats, commercial burgers, pizza, fried foods, potato chips,  
                             crisps and other savoury snacks.
                                                                                             
                             •	 Replace high fat foods which contain predominately saturated fats such as 
                               butter, cream, cooking margarine, coconut and palm oil with foods which contain  
                               predominately polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as oils, spreads,  
                               nut butters/pastes and avocado.
                             •	 Low fat diets are not suitable for children under the age of 2 years. 
                          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 in cooking or at the table.
                          c.  Limit intake of foods and drinks containing added sugars such as confectionary,  
                             sugar-sweetened soft drinks and cordials, fruit drinks, vitamin waters, energy  
                             and sports drinks.
                                                                                         
                          d.  If you choose to drink alcohol, limit intake. For women who are pregnant, 
                             planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, not drinking alcohol is the safest option.
             Guideline 4  Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding                               35
             Guideline 5  Care for your food; prepare and store it safely                            37
             Pulling things together 40
             Sample daily food patterns                                                              41
                                                                                           CONTENTS        iii