Australian Dietary Guidelines - Summary - National Health and ...

Australian Dietary Guidelines SummaryAlternatives to animal foods include nuts, seeds, legumes, beans and tofu. For all Australians,these foods increase dietary variety and can provide a valuable, affordable source of proteinand other nutrients found in meats. These foods are also particularly important for those whofollow vegetarian or vegan dietary patterns.Australians following a vegetarian diet can still meet nutrient requirements if energy needsare met and the appropriate number and variety of serves from the Five Food Groupsare eaten throughout the day. For those eating a vegan diet, supplementation of B 12 isrecommended. For further information seek the advice of an Accredited Practising Dietitian.How much lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds,and legumes/beans should we eat?The Guidelines recommend that you eat 1–3 serves of these foods each day, dependingon age. During pregnancy, 3½ serves a day are recommended. See the next page forexamples of how much is a serve.Looking at the individual types of food consumed over a week, a maximum of 455g oflean, cooked, red meat per week is recommended.Many adults eat meat, poultry or fish in larger portion sizes than the standard serve sizesoutlined on the next page. This is not a problem if you compensate for a large serving byconsuming the food less often. For example, instead of having 100g cooked weight of fishtwice per week you could have 200g cooked weight once per week; or instead of having65g of red meat every day, you could have twice as much on every second day.Some population groups such as children and young women may need to increase theirintake of lean red meat, but most Australian men eat more red meat than is recommendedand would benefit from reducing their intake.For older children and adult Australians who eat foods from animal sources, around 2 servesof fish per week is recommended. For children less than 8 years of age, up to around 1–1½serves per week is recommended.Whole nuts and seeds are not recommended for children aged 3 years or under because ofpotential choking problems – nut butters or nut pastes can be used instead.For more information go to:www.eatforhealth.gov.auENJOY A WIDE VARIETY OF NUTRITIOUS FOODS FROM THESE FIVE GROUPS EVERY DAY21