EAT FOR HEALTH – AusTRALiAn diETARy guidELinEs
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Salt: Dietary salt is an inorganic compound consisting of sodium and chloride ions. It is found naturally in many
foods, but it is also added to many foods because of its preservative and flavouring characteristics. Research has
shown that both the sodium and the chloride can be detrimental to health when consumed in excess. About 90%
of all the sodium added to food is sodium chloride, so dietary intake of sodium approximates intake of sodium
chloride for practical purposes. Sodium in the diet of Australian adults comes mostly from processed foods,
although sodium added in cooking, at the table, in medications and naturally present in foods can contribute to
the total dietary intake.
Australian adults are recommended to limit their intake of sodium to less than 2,300 mg per day. This is equivalent
to about 6g of salt, or one and a half teaspoons.
Saturated fatty acids (SFAs): In chemical terms, SFAs contain no double bond – that is, they are fully saturated
with hydrogen. Foods that predominantly comprise SFAs are usually solid at room temperature (e.g. butter,
fat on meat). SFAs are the main type of fatty acid in milk, cream, butter and cheese, in some meats (most of
the land animal fats), and can also be found in considerable amounts in some oils such as in palm and coconut
oil. When the SFAs palmitic (16:0), myristic (14:0) and lauric (12:0) predominate in the diet they tend to raise
plasma cholesterol.
Seafood: Refers to seafood (including fish) that is safe for human consumption and is produced or traded
commercially in Australia, including seafood exports and imports.
Simple carbohydrate: See sugars.
Sodium: See salt.
Solid foods: All foods other than liquids – includes semi-solid/pureed foods, finger foods and family foods.
Standard drink: A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol – equivalent to 12.5ml of alcohol.
Starch: FSANZ defines starch as a complex carbohydrate (polysaccharide) containing a mixture of two molecules:
amylose and amylopectin. Starch is determined chromatographically after enzymatic treatment of a de-sugared
extract of the food.
Sugars: Conventionally used to describe monosaccharides and disaccharides such as sucrose, glucose and
fructose, which can be found naturally in foods or can be added in processing. Sugars is the term used in the
analysis of the 1995 National Nutrition Survey. Sugar, by contrast, is commonly used to describe purified sucrose,
as are the terms refined sugar and added sugar. Added sugars may also include other sugars such as glucose,
fructose and corn syrup.
Tofu: Tofu is made from soybeans, water and a coagulant, or curdling agent. Tofu is a protein-rich food and in
these Guidelines it is classified as a meat alternative.
Total Diet: Progression from Foundation Diets to Total Diets can occur when total energy needs are greater than
the energy provided by a Foundation Diet for a particular age and sex group. General principles were determined
to ensure that diets remained within acceptable limits for percentage of energy from fat and the various fat
components, protein and carbohydrate (AMDRs), the uls and SDTs for chronic disease prevention. The principles
allow free addition of vegetables, including legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds, and cereal foods. The principles also
encourage a variety of choice of additional foods while defining the choices allowed in the modelling for the meat,
milk, yoghurt and cheese products and unsaturated margarines and oils categories. ‘Discretionary choices’ can
be included but they do not need to be included in the diet, and Total Diets without inclusion of any ‘discretionary
choices’ were also modelled for all age and sex groups.
Trans-fatty acids (TFAs): TFAs are a form of unsaturated fatty acid that is straight at a double bond rather than bent,
as in the usual cis form. They are not common in nature but are formed during some manufacturing processes,
such as when edible oils are hydrogenated to make cooking margarines. Small amounts of trans-fatty acids occur
naturally in meats and dairy foods.
Unsaturated fatty acid: See monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Upper level of intake (UL): The highest average daily nutrient intake level likely to pose no adverse health effects
to almost all individuals in the general population. As intake increases above the ul of intake, the potential risk of
adverse effects increases.