Draft Australian Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 3MB) - Eat For Health

2.1 Eat a wide variety of nutritious foods2.1.1 Setting the sceneNo single food - with the exception of breastmilk for about the first six months of life - canprovide all the nutrients in the amounts needed for good health. Dietary patterns which include awide variety of nutritious foods and water are more likely than restricted diets to meet nutrientrequirements [9] and confer health benefits. A dietary pattern needs to include a variety of choicesfrom 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 foodsupply generally meets the nutritional needs of the population, but appropriate choices must bemade to ensure that all nutrient requirements are met, so that diet-related chronic disease can beprevented or delayed, and so that optimum health and wellbeing can be achieved [10]. Australia isalso 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 Survey1995 – showed an increasing number of foods being consumed by adults in that year comparedwith 1983 [44]. It is expected that the variety of foods consumed has continued to increase since1995. This is largely as a result of cultural diversity in the population arising from waves ofimmigration from European countries after World War II and Asian and African countries sincethe 1970s [99, 100]. Initially, new varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables, grain (cereal) foods anddifferent types of meat and legume/beans became available. Increasing demand for convenienceand/or fast foods - also as a result of changes in social and economic conditions - has led to theavailability of approximately 30,000 different types of foods and drinks [101]. However, many ofthese - particularly snack and fast foods and drinks - are energy-dense and nutrient-poor, so careis required to choose diets consistent with the Guidelines [102].Despite the variety of foods available in Australia, comparison of actual intakes with recommendednutrient 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 forsome girls and women of reproductive age [10] and iodine intake is inadequate in some pregnantand breastfeeding women [103].Consuming a dietary pattern consistent with the evidence presented in this chapter will help topromote 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 toreduce the risk of diet-related chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes andsome cancers [9, 10, 14], and promote health and wellbeing.DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 26