Guidelines Dietary - Eat For Health

2.1 Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods2.1.1 Setting the sceneNo single food – with the exception of breast milk for about the first 6 months of life – can provide all the nutrientsin the amounts needed for good health. Dietary patterns that include a wide variety of nutritious foods and water aremore likely than restricted diets to meet nutrient requirements 8 and confer health benefits. A dietary pattern needs toinclude a variety of choices from each of the five food groups – vegetables; fruit; grain (cereal) foods; lean meats andpoultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans; and milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives.Guideline 2Most Australians today eat a wide variety of foods from different cuisines. The available food supply generallymeets the nutritional needs of the population, but appropriate choices must be made to ensure that all nutrientrequirements are met, so that diet-related chronic disease can be prevented or delayed, and so that optimumhealth and wellbeing can be achieved. 9 Australia is also fortunate in having a safe food supply with low levels ofcontaminants and pollutants. 318The most recent dietary survey data available for Australian adults – the National Nutrition Survey 1995 – showedan increase in the number of foods being consumed by adults in that year compared with 1983. 45 New data onfood consumption patterns are being collected in the 2011–13 Australian Healthy Survey, with detailed resultsavailable from May 2013. 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 Europeancountries after World War II and Asian and African countries since the 1970s. 319,320 Initially, new varieties offresh 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 economicconditions – has led to the availability of approximately 30,000 different types of foods and drinks. 321 However,many of these – particularly snack and fast foods and drinks – are energy-dense and nutrient-poor, so care isrequired to choose diets consistent with the Guidelines. 322Despite the variety of foods available in Australia, comparison of actual intakes with NRVs 8 shows that somepeople are still at risk for deficiencies of particular nutrients. For example, intakes of iron and calcium continueto be low in relation to recommendations for some girls and women of reproductive age 9 and iodine intake isinadequate in some pregnant and breastfeeding women. 323Consuming 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 Guideline1 and Guideline 3, adherence to this guideline will help to reduce the risk of diet-related chronic disease such ascardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, 8,9,33 and promote health and wellbeing.Food choices to reduce the impact on the environment are consistent with those to improve health. Each foodgroup provides a variety of foods from which people can choose based on dietary preferences or plant-based orbelief-based dietary patterns.2.1.2 The evidence for consuming ‘a wide variety of nutritious foods’Evidence of the health benefits of a dietary pattern consisting of a variety of nutritious foods in appropriateamounts has strengthened over the past decade. The evidence suggests that high diet quality is associated witha reduced risk of chronic disease and improved health outcomes (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 20.3). 20,324-327Reviews of studies of a range of eating patterns suggest that:• higher quality diet is associated with reduced morbidity• the negative health effects tend to be greater in those with lower quality diets, such as men, young people andpeople with lower educational and socioeconomic status• consuming a dietary intake pattern consistent with national dietary guidelines or other scientifically informedrecommendations is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 20.3). 19,20Recent evidence also confirms that a dietary pattern consistent with current guidelines to consume a wide varietyof nutritious foods may be associated with superior nutritional status, quality of life and survival in older adults. 21,2232EAT FOR HEALTH – australian dietary guidelinesNational Health and Medical Research Council