The Australian guide to healthy eating
(Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, 1998)

The most recent food selection guide available in Australia is the 'Australian Guide to Healthy Eating', released in 1998. This was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services as part of the implementation of the national Food and Nutrition Policy (Commonwealth of Australia, 1992). This guide is based on the "Core Food Groups" and has not been designed to replace other food guides, rather to clarify and build upon the tools already available to the public. Unlike the CSIRO 12345+ plan and Nutrition Australia's Healthy Eating Pyramid, it is in the shape of a plate or pie with `slices' for fruit, vegetables (and legumes), cereals, animal derived foods such as meat, fish, eggs (and legumes/nuts as meat alternatives), and milk and milk products.

This guide is similar to the 12345+ plan in that it addresses the 'total diet' by providing recommendations about 'extras' or 'indulgences' and fats (one teaspoon unsaturated margarine/oil per cereal serving recommended daily) (see table). There are, however, several differences with the 12345+ plan:

It does not give recommendations for varying energy needs and physical activity levels

It does not enable consumers and health practitioners to 'tick' boxes in the guide which visually can be helpful and instructive regarding inadequacies and excesses in the diet;

Red meat is recommended three to four times a week to ensure adequate iron intake otherwise high iron replacement foods are recommended such as legumes and nuts.

It recommends to 'eat fish and legumes more often'.

It recommends nearly double the daily intake of cereals (e.g. up to 24 slices of bread) and slightly less milk (500 ml versus 600ml).

New research is emerging which suggests that eating too many refined grains and breads or cereals with a high glycaemic index may have detrimental effects on health - such as an increased risk of stomach cancer and diabetes. High grain intakes are associated with low intakes of fruit and vegetables, so people with a high intake of grains may have other dietary characteristics, which increase their risk of certain diseases.

Most Healthy Eating Food Pyramids around the world (e.g. American, 12345+ Food Pyramid) recommend 5 to 6 tiers of intake of the various food groups; breads and cereals are usually placed in the bottom tier of the pyramid (i.e. eat most), followed by fruits and vegetables, then dairy, then meat and finally the eat least category includes fats and sugars.

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, recommends an even larger segment of cereal foods, followed by vegetables/legumes and then fruit. Even though all these guides recommend a preference for wholegrain cereals, the recommended number of serves may be achieved with refined cereal products by some consumers. Interestingly, the Australian Nutrition Foundation's (now known as Nutrition Australia) Healthy Eating Pyramid, first developed in the 1980s, has always had only 3 tiers. The 'Eat Most' tier includes Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes and Cereals, followed by the 'Eat Moderately' tier of animal foods and at the top or 'Eat Least' are the fats and sugars. In other words, a variety of plant foods are recommended in large quantities as opposed to recommending a preference for cereals over other plant foods. This may still be the soundest nutritional advice with respect to cereals

Complete the quiz - How's your diet? (Using the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating)

Materials (including posters, a booklet and background information) for both the general public and nutrition educators can be obtained from: The Publications Officer Public Health Division Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services Toll-free: 1800 020 103 (ext 8654) E-mail: phd.publications@health.gov.au Or on the internet at: http://www.health.gov.au/pubhlth/strateg/food/guide/

Last Updated: August 10, 2001.