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

varieties within each food group, for example wholegrain, or lean, or lower fat and plain water,preferably from the tap. This serves to distinguish between eating a variety and over-consumption asthere is some evidence that there may be a link between eating a variety of energy-dense food anddrinks and excessive food intakes (see Chapter 4). Variety refers to nutritious food, notdiscretionary foods.Different quantities of different types of foods from the five food groups are recommended fordifferent ages, sexes, and those with different energy (kilojoule) intake requirements. These arebased on dietary modelling to inform the revised Australian Guide to Healthy Eating [10]. Forexample, men aged 19-50 need to eat around 19.5 – 22.5 serves of food from the five food groupseach day while 19-50 year old women need to eat 18 – 20.5 serves from these five food groups.Detailed information on the number and types of serves of food for different population groups isin the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating [114].2.1.4.1 Pregnant and breastfeeding womenConsuming a variety of nutritious foods is particularly important during pregnancy and whilebreastfeeding. Quality nutritious dietary patterns during pregnancy may reduce the risk of babiesbeing small for their gestational age or exhibiting restricted intrauterine foetal growth [115-117],being large for their gestational age [118], and may also help reduce the risk of pregnant womendeveloping pre-eclampsia [119, 120]. Quality nutritious dietary patterns before and duringpregnancy may help reduce the risk of women developing gestational diabetes mellitus [120-123].Maternal diet during pregnancy and while breastfeeding does not appear to affect the risk ofasthma, eczema or other allergy symptoms in infants [124-128]. Some health outcomes (such asallergies) in children will be affected more by their diet through infancy and childhood than theirmother’s diet during pregnancy, with in-utero influences likely to be minimal. However, a cohortstudy found that mothers who adopt high quality dietary patterns are more likely to have childrenwho also consume nutritious diets [129].Foods that should be avoided during pregnancy include those associated with increased risk ofListeria bacteria, such as soft cheeses, cold seafood, sandwich meats, bean sprouts and packaged orpre-prepared salads [130]. Intake of certain species of fish should be limited, due to the potentialrisk of excessive mercury intake. Pregnant women are advised to consume no more than oneserve per fortnight of shark, marlin or broadbill/swordfish, and no other fish that fortnight, or oneserve per week of orange roughy (deep sea perch) and no other fish that week [130, 131].Constipation is a common symptom during pregnancy [132]. Clinical treatment of constipationgenerally includes advice to consume a high fibre diet, including wholegrain cereals, fruit, andvegetables, and to drink water, which is consistent with these Guidelines.DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines- December 2011 29