THE Eatwell guide shows how much of what we eat should come from each food group in order to achieve a healthy balanced diet.
The key food groups are fruit and vegetables, starches (bread, rice, pasta etc), proteins (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, soya, pulses etc) and fats (meat, fish, nuts, seeds and some oils). But above and beyond this, did you know that you should aim for 30 plant-based points per week from the super six group.
What is the super six group? Well, it's wholegrains (wholemeal bread, wholegrain rice, wholewheat pasta etc), fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes (lentils, beans, peas), herbs and spices. This means you should aim for 30 different varieties of the super six group over a week.
Diversity is key in our diet and this is how you will achieve optimum nutrition in terms of nutritional value. People tend to stick to eating the same foods every day, but you won’t achieve a balanced diverse diet by doing this. If you try to eat many different foods each week you will get far more value from it and should lead a healthier lifestyle that has less disease risk.
Try the super six this summer and see how you feel in terms of energy levels, mood and overall health.
Lee McCusker (BA; MSc; MSc; MSc; ANutr; SENr) is a registered nutritionist from Belfast and can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Email: attentivenutrition@gmail.com
