EAT FOR HEALTH Australian Dietary Guidelines

EAT FOR HEALTH – AusTRALiAn diETARy guidELinEs

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Guideline 2

2 .1 Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods

2 .1.1 Setting the scene

No single food – with the exception of breast milk for about the first 6 months of life – can provide all the nutrients

in the amounts needed for good health. Dietary patterns that include a wide variety of nutritious foods and water are

more likely than restricted diets to meet nutrient requirements^8 and confer health benefits. A dietary pattern needs to

include a variety of choices from each of the five food groups – vegetables; fruit; grain (cereal) foods; lean meats and

poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans; and milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives.

Most Australians today eat a wide variety of foods from different cuisines. The available food supply generally

meets the nutritional needs of the population, but appropriate choices must be made to ensure that all nutrient

requirements are met, so that diet-related chronic disease can be prevented or delayed, and so that optimum

health and wellbeing can be achieved.^9 Australia is also fortunate in having a safe food supply with low levels of

contaminants and pollutants.^318

The most recent dietary survey data available for Australian adults – the National Nutrition Survey 1995 – showed

an increase in the number of foods being consumed by adults in that year compared with 1983.^45 New data on

food consumption patterns are being collected in the 2011–13 Australian Healthy Survey, with detailed results

available 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 European

countries after World War II and Asian and African countries since the 1970s.319,320 Initially, new varieties of

fresh 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 economic

conditions – 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 is

required to choose diets consistent with the Guidelines.^322

Despite the variety of foods available in Australia, comparison of actual intakes with NRVs^8 shows that some

people are still at risk for deficiencies of particular nutrients. For example, intakes of iron and calcium continue

to be low in relation to recommendations for some girls and women of reproductive age^9 and iodine intake is

inadequate in some pregnant and breastfeeding women.^323

Consuming 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 Guideline

1 and Guideline 3, adherence to this guideline will help to reduce the risk of diet-related chronic disease such as

cardiovascular 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 food

group provides a variety of foods from which people can choose based on dietary preferences or plant-based or

belief-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 appropriate

amounts has strengthened over the past decade. The evidence suggests that high diet quality is associated with

a reduced risk of chronic disease and improved health outcomes (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 20.3).20,324-327

Reviews 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 and

people with lower educational and socioeconomic status

•   consuming a dietary intake pattern consistent with national dietary guidelines or other scientifically informed

recommendations is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality (Grade C; Evidence Report, Section 20.3).19,20

Recent evidence also confirms that a dietary pattern consistent with current guidelines to consume a wide variety

of nutritious foods may be associated with superior nutritional status, quality of life and survival in older adults.21,22