Practical advice on maintaining a healthy diet:

Fruit and vegetables:

Eating at least 400 g, or five portions, of fruit and vegetables per day reduces the risk of NCDs and helps to ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre.

Fruit and vegetable intake can be improved by:

• always including vegetables in meals;
• eating fresh fruit and raw vegetables as snacks;
• eating fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season; and
• eating a variety of fruit and vegetables.

Fats:

Reducing the amount of total fat intake to less than 30% of total energy intake helps to prevent unhealthy weight gain in the adult population. Also, the risk of developing NCDs is lowered by:

• reducing saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy intake;
• reducing trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake; and
• replacing both saturated fats and trans-fats with unsaturated fats – in particular, with polyunsaturated fats.

Salt, sodium and potassium:

Most people consume too much sodium through salt (corresponding to consuming an average of 9–12 g of salt per day) and not enough potassium (less than 3.5 g). High sodium intake and insufficient potassium intake contribute to high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Salt intake can be reduced by:-

• limiting the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (e.g. soy sauce, fish sauce and bouillon) when cooking and preparing foods;
• not having salt or high-sodium sauces on the table;
• limiting the consumption of salty snacks; and
• choosing products with lower sodium content.

Sugars :

In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake.  A reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake would provide additional health benefits.

Consuming free sugars increases the risk of dental caries (tooth decay). Excess calories from foods and drinks high in free sugars also contribute to unhealthy weight gain, which can lead to overweight and obesity.

• limiting the consumption of foods and drinks containing high amounts of sugars, such as sugary snacks, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages (i.e. all types of beverages containing free sugars – these include carbonated or non‐carbonated soft drinks, fruit or vegetable juices and drinks, liquid and powder concentrates, flavoured water, energy and sports drinks, ready‐to‐drink tea, ready‐to‐drink coffee and flavoured milk drinks); and
• eating fresh fruit and raw vegetables as snacks instead of sugary snacks