Resources > Healthy Body

Healthy eating

A woman wearing traditional attire stands in a kitchen, facing an open refrigerator and reaching for a bottle of milk among various food items and jars. The room has a countertop with kitchen tools and a wall calendar.

It is important to eat healthily as it can help you to:

Keep your energy levels up
Sleep better
Look after your immune system
Reduce your risk of health conditions, like type 2 diabetes, heart conditions and many cancers
Have strong bones and joints
Have good mental health
Manage any long-term health conditions you may be living with

Top tips for eating a healthy diet

Busy lifestyles, food and drink adverts, how much money we have, where we live, our culture, friends and family, and all sorts of other factors influence what we eat.

Finding the right balance between how much, how often, what we eat and enjoying our food is important.

Wooden platter with fresh foods including tomatoes, grapefruit, cherries, eggs, and a bowl of avocado, chicken, and greens.

Here are some top tips to have a healthy diet:

Eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day – eat as many different types of fruit and vegetables as possible to maximise your intake of vitamins and fibre. Frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables can be a cheaper way to get these into your diet. Beans and pulses can also count towards your 5 a day. Find a market near you to buy cheaper fruit and veg.

Cut down on processed and red meats – these meats have been shown to increase the risk of cancer. For more information on processed meats, take a look at the World Cancer Research Fund factsheet.

Fish, tofu, eggs and lean cuts of meat (like chicken breast) are great sources of protein.

Choose wholegrain pasta, rice and brown bread. These are less refined, complex carbohydrates. They help to fill you up and keep you feeling fuller for longer.

Avoid ultra-processed foods – Avoid food made with lots of ingredients you wouldn’t find in your kitchen.

Check the labels – if the label on your food or drink has traffic lights, a green light means it’s low in salt, sugar or saturated fats. A red means it’s high in salt, sugar or saturated fats. Try to choose products with more green lights, and those with red lights less often. To see how much salt, sugar and fat is in the food and drinks you commonly eat, download the Change4Life Be Food Smart app.