DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

2.1 Eat a wide variety of nutritious foods
2.1.1 Setting the scene
No single food - with the exception of breastmilk for about the first six months of life - can
provide all the nutrients in the amounts needed for good health. Dietary patterns which include a
wide variety of nutritious foods and water are more likely than restricted diets to meet nutrient
requirements [9] and confer health benefits. A dietary pattern needs to include a variety of choices
from each of the five food groups – vegetables, fruit, grain (cereal) foods, lean meat and poultry,
fish, eggs, nuts and seed and legumes/beans, and milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives.
Most Australians today eat a wide variety of foods from different cuisines. The available food
supply generally meets the nutritional needs of the population, but appropriate choices must be
made to ensure that all nutrient requirements are met, so that diet-related chronic disease can be
prevented or delayed, and so that optimum health and wellbeing can be achieved [10]. Australia is
also fortunate in having a safe food supply with low levels of contaminants and pollutants[98].
The most recent dietary survey data available for Australian adults – the National Nutrition Survey
1995 – showed an increasing number of foods being consumed by adults in that year compared
with 1983 [44]. It is expected that the variety of foods consumed has continued to increase since
1995. This is largely as a result of cultural diversity in the population arising from waves of
immigration from European countries after World War II and Asian and African countries since
the 1970s [99, 100]. Initially, new varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables, grain (cereal) foods and
different types of meat and legume/beans became available. Increasing demand for convenience
and/or fast foods - also as a result of changes in social and economic conditions - has led to the
availability of approximately 30,000 different types of foods and drinks [101]. However, many of
these - particularly snack and fast foods and drinks - are energy-dense and nutrient-poor, so care
is required to choose diets consistent with the Guidelines [102].
Despite the variety of foods available in Australia, comparison of actual intakes with recommended
nutrient intakes [9] shows that some people are still at risk for deficiencies of particular nutrients.
For example, intakes of iron and calcium continue to be low in relation to recommendations for
some girls and women of reproductive age [10] and iodine intake is inadequate in some pregnant
and breastfeeding women [103].
Consuming a dietary pattern consistent with the evidence presented in this chapter will help to
promote health, protect against disease and reduce the prevalence of nutrient deficiencies.
Together with adherence to Guideline 2 and Guideline 3, adherence to this guideline will help to
reduce the risk of diet-related chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and
some cancers [9, 10, 14], and promote health and wellbeing.
DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 26