FAQ
How can I get my child to eat more fruits and vegetables?
Answer:
Be creative and offer different fruits and vegetables presented in many different ways. Children take some time to develop a taste for foods, so if they refuse a fruit or vegetable, try again another day. Here are some suggestions for including more fruits and vegetables:
- Make a delicious fruit smoothie with fresh fruit, low fat milk and yoghurt
- Add fruit to cakes and muffins
- Thread fresh fruit onto skewers and serve with yoghurt for a colourful snack
- Serve chopped fresh vegetables with salsa or low fat dip
- Grow a vegetable garden if you have the space. This is great exercise and the whole family can enjoy the fresh vegetables straight from the garden
- Take the children to the local markets and let them choose the fruit for the week
How can I prevent my child from becoming overweight?
Answer:
Encourage your whole family to adopt a healthy lifestyle by following the Dietary Guidelines for Australians and being physically active. This will make it easier for each family member to adopt a healthy lifestyle behaviours. Try to limit television viewing and computer games, and keep sweet or high fat foods for occasional snacks.
Portion sizes are also very important. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating can help you plan the quantities of foods needed to balance your energy intake with your physical activity.
You can assess your current diet using the Healthy Eating Assessment tool on this website.
If you would like individual advice that is tailored to your family’s needs, visit an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD). APDs are the experts in food and nutrition and can help you plan a healthy diet that is right for your family and fits in with your lifestyle.
My child is overweight, what should I do?
Answer:
The best way to help an overweight child is with long-term family changes towards healthy eating and more physical activity. Involving the whole family in these changes is essential for long term success. Fad diets and strict dieting are not recommended for children because they can affect healthy growth and development and can have long term effects on how children view their bodies and their self-esteem.
Family involvement helps because everyone is working together on the same healthy lifestyle goals. Some of the healthy eating changes you could make include:
- Having breakfast as a family everyday
- Encouraging water as a drink rather than soft-drink, cordial or juice
- Limiting sweet and high fat snacks.
- Making healthier fast-food choices
- Increasing physical activity. Some ideas are take a football or Frisbee to the park, play cricket on the beach, try roller blading or ice-skating, put up a basketball ring, walk to school or home a few days a week.
- An Accredited Practising Dietitian can help you make healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle that are right for your family and will work.
What can I put in my child's lunchbox?
Answer:
Be creative and include a wide variety of foods in your child's lunchbox, using the Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents as a guide.
Here are some fun and nutritious ideas:
- Pita bread with salad vegetables and lean cold roast meat
- Wholegrain English muffins with honey or jam
- Sandwich squares with egg, lettuce and tomato
- Cheese sticks, a tub of yoghurt and milk are good options for making sure your children get enough calcium
- Dried fruit, fresh fruit chunks, vegetable sticks, pikelets, homemade muffins, crackers or rice cakes make great snacks
- Water is the best drink for children, instead of juice, soft drinks or cordials.
- More ideas ? the ideas from the A-Z lunchbox were more comprehensive
- Also be sure to prepare and store lunch box foods safely.
An Accredited Practising Dietitian can give you lots of other ideas for healthy school lunches and provide tips on how to prepare and store food safely
Can I drink alcohol?
Answer:
In moderation, alcohol can be part of a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle, however drinking large amounts of alcohol can be harmful to health.
To minimise risks to your health, both in the short and long term:
- Men should consume no more than four standard drinks a day on average.
- Women should consume no more than two standard drinks a day on average.
Both men and women should aim to have at least one or two alcohol free days per week.
Children and pregnant women should not drink alcohol.
What take-away foods are healthy?
Answer:
Takeaway foods can be part of a healthy eating plan provided they are not eaten everyday, you choose small portions and where possible you choose lower fat and lower salt options.
Healthier takeaway choices could be plain hamburgers with lots of salad (leave out the bacon, fried onion and fried egg), gourmet style pizzas with vegetable, lean meat or seafood toppings, jacket potatoes with vegetable or legume toppings (e.g. creamed corn, baked beans and salad), sandwiches or toasted sandwiches with lean meats and lots of vegetables or salad, grilled fish and salad, pasta with tomato-based sauces, BBQ chicken with skin removed, sushi and Vietnamese rolls.
If reduced fat versions of items are available, these are generally healthier choices. Grilled is also a healthier choice than fried food.
I'm tired all the time, should I try a detox diet?
Answer:
Detox diets promise amazing results including more energy by 'flushing' toxins from your body, but there isn't much proof of positive health outcomes. Detox diets are often very rigid and can even remove whole food groups which can be dangerous, especially for children, teenagers, pregnant or breastfeeding women and older adults.
Our bodies can naturally ‘detox’: our lungs, kidneys, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and immune system remove or neutralise toxic substances within hours after we eat them.
The key to feeling more energised is to improve your diet and lifestyle. Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and getting at least half an hour of exercise a day will also help you feel better in no time! Limiting alcohol, too much coffee, saturated and trans fats, soft drinks and refined sugary foods and not smoking are also great ways to feel better.
Is organic food better for my health?
Answer:
In Australia, both organic and conventionally grown foods can provide all the nutrients required when included in a healthy balanced diet.
Whether you choose organic foods or conventionally grown foods, is your personal choice. People choose organic foods for a number of reasons including the environmental benefits, the reduced use of chemicals, and may believe they taste better.
Organic foods purchased locally can also help reduce transport costs and provide support to small producers.
Are carbohydrates fattening?
Answer:
No, carbohydrate-containing foods are an important part of a healthy diet as they provide fuel for the brain. Cutting out carbohydrates can leave your diet low in energy, dietary fibre, many vitamins and minerals and can be potentially dangerous over time. Choose a variety of carbohydrate containing foods, preferably wholegrain and lower glycaemic index (GI) options.
Low GI foods include wholegrain breads and cereals, pasta, oats, apples, oranges and pears, low fat yoghurt and milk and dried beans and lentils. Eating low GI foods may help to keep hunger at bay for longer, helping you eat less, and provide gradual, continuous supply of energy from one meal to the next.
How can I choose the right weight loss plan for me
Answer:
These days there are a range of weight loss programs available and it is important to be sure that you start on an appropriate healthy eating plan that is right for you.
Keep in mind that the right weight loss plan should:
- Meet your individual nutritional and health needs
- Fit with your individual lifestyle
- Include a wide variety of foods from all food groups
- Promote physical activity
- Focus on realistic life-long changes to eating and exercise habits
Watch out for fad diets, as these encourage short-term changes in eating behaviour and weight lost on these diets is often regained. Avoid diets that:
- Cut out entire food groups or specific nutritious foods
- Promote rapid weight loss without supervision by a dietitian and a doctor
- Focus on short term changes to eating and exercise habits
- Recommend unusual foods or eating patterns
- Encourage miracle pills and potions
- An Accredited Practising Dietitian can help you choose the right weight loss plan for you.
How can I stay motivated to maintain a healthy diet for weight loss?
Answer:
It is important to set yourself realistic goals to eat a healthy diet and have a healthy weight. People need an eating and lifestyle plan as individual as they are to lose weight and keep it off. An Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) can help you set realistic goals and will provide you with practical advice on how it can be achieved with a personalised eating and exercise plan. APDs provide you with strategies to cope with minor setbacks and offer support and motivation when you need it.
Remember, the lifestyle changes you make now will help you maintain good health throughout life. With a little help and support from an Accredited Practising Dietitian you can achieve your goals and feel fantastic.
I need to gain weight, what should I eat?
Answer:
Being underweight can make it difficult to stay healthy. If you are not eating enough, it's difficult to meet your needs for important nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals.
Ideas that can help to meet nutritional needs include:
- eating small frequent meals and snacks to fit in more food throughout the day
- having full-cream milk drinks between meals
- adding more oil and margarine to food in cooking
- adding skim milk powder to soups, stews and drinks
- adding grated cheese to cooked foods
- snacking on cheese and crackers, nuts and dried fruit during the day
An Accredited Practising Dietitian can provide expert nutrition and dietary advice to help meet nutritional needs and achieve a healthy weight.
Protein versus Carbohydrates?
Answer:
'Protein versus carbohydrate' diets have recently attracted a lot of interest. The Dietitians Association of Australia does not recommend diets that are very low in carbohydrate and very high in protein. However there is a range of recommended carbohydrate and protein intakes that may assist with weight loss. What is right for you depends on your age, weight, sex and level of physical activity.
An Accredited Practising Dietitian can tailor a healthy eating plan with the best amount of carbohydrate and protein specifically for you.
What should I do to lose weight?
Answer:
Successful weight management requires a life-long commitment to a healthy lifestyle, which is focused on eating healthy foods and keeping physically active in a way that is both sustainable and enjoyable.
Gradual weight loss will provide the most health benefits and help you avoid weight gain over the long-term.
- Choose a variety of foods including plenty of breads, cereals, fruit and vegetables; moderate amounts of reduced fat dairy foods and lean meats or alternatives; and small amounts of added fats and oils.
- Use the DAA Healthy Eating Self Assessment tool based on the Australian Healthy Eating Guide to assess your current food intake against the recommended intake.
- Explore ways to increase your regular daily activity, such as walking the last kilometre to work, taking the stairs instead of the lift and participating in regular recreational exercise. Aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week.
An Accredited Practising Dietitian can work out an eating plan to help you lose weight while still meeting your nutritional needs.
What's the best type of fat for a healthy heart?
Answer:
Enjoy moderate amounts of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in place of saturated fats for a healthy heart. As with all healthy eating, the key is moderation. To help you do this try:
- Small amounts of margarine spreads or avocado instead of butter or dairy blends at the table and in recipes
- A variety of oils for cooking - some suitable choices include canola, sunflower, soybean, olive
- Two fish meals per week, choosing oily deep sea varieties
- Including varieties of nuts and seeds in meals and snacks
Also try to avoid saturated fat and trans fats as they can be harmful for your heart. To help you do this try to use:
- Lean meat and skinless poultry
- Reduced fat dairy
- Limited amounts of extra foods such as biscuits, pastry and chips
- Use margarines that list trans fat as < 0.1 g per 100g
Also limit fried and fatty take away or processed foods as these are often high in saturated and trans fats.
