What is a balanced diet?
A balanced diet provides your body with what it needs to work well: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and fibre. What works best for each of us varies from person to person, based on our bodies' unique needs. Your age, activity level, and other health conditions will all influence and shape what balanced eating looks like for you.
Healthy eating involves enjoying a range of foods in the right amounts. It’s important to choose options that promote your well-being. You don’t have to eliminate entire food groups or follow strict diets.
Six principles of a balanced diet
There isn’t one perfect healthy diet for everyone. But you can take several steps to lay the groundwork for a balanced and healthy diet. This can help if you have an omnivorous diet, are vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, flexitarian, or have food allergies.
Healthy eating is easier when we focus on building small, consistent habits. The British Nutrition Foundation highlights six key principles of healthy eating.
- Aim for at least five portions of fruit and veg each day: Providing vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, fresh, frozen, tinned and dried options all count towards your five a day. Aim for five or more 80g portions each day.
- Include plenty of fibre-rich foods in your diet: Wholegrains, potatoes with skins, and legumes help you feel fuller for longer and support digestion.
- Try to have a range of proteins throughout your day: Protein helps support muscle health, hormone balance, tissue repair, and satiety. A mixture of plant and animal sources (if you're not vegetarian/vegan) can help fit more protein into your diet.
- Include dairy foods or fortified alternatives: Dairy provides protein, calcium, B vitamins and iodine. Fortified plant-based alternatives are available with added calcium, vitamins, and minerals.
- Make sure you are choosing the right, healthy fats: Unsaturated fats like olive oil, nuts, and oily fish support heart and brain health. Try to limit foods high in saturated fats like fatty meats, coconut oil, and many ultra-processed foods.
- Ensure food and drinks high in fat, salt, and sugar are eaten in moderation: You don’t need to cut high-fat, salt or sugar foods out. Focus on eating more mindfully in moderation.
Healthy eating basics
Understanding portion sizes, reference intakes and food labels
Portion sizes can help you balance your meals. A portion of fruit or veg is about a handful; carbohydrates equal a closed fist; protein is roughly the size of your palm. Understanding food labels and reference intakes (RIs) can also help you see how foods fit into your daily diet. Learn more about portion sizes, food labels, and reference intakes.
Fats, sugars and starchy foods explained
When we hear about fat, sugar, and starchy foods, we often get mixed messages – or hear a lot about what we ‘shouldn’t’ do. But each plays an important role in creating a balanced diet:
- Healthy fats like avocado, nuts, seeds, and oily fish help support heart, brain, and hormone health.
- Sugars occur naturally in food like fruit and dairy. Added sugar is fine in moderation, but choosing whole foods with naturally occurring sugars can help you avoid sugar crashes.
- Starchy foods like pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread are your main source of energy and provide essential fibre. Opting for wholegrains where possible helps provide extra fibre.
Understanding protein and why it’s important
Protein is essential for muscle repair, healthy immune function, and feeling fuller for longer. Both plant and animal options can support a balanced diet:
- Plant proteins: beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, nuts, seeds.
- Animal protein: eggs, dairy, poultry, fish, lean meat.
A mixture of different sources can help you to get a broader range of nutrients, including iron, zinc, and essential amino acids.
Getting more fruit, veg, and fibre for a balanced diet
Fibre is vital for digestion, gut health, and maintaining steady blood sugar levels. Many people don’t meet the recommended 30g of fibre per day, and some studies suggest less than half of us get our recommended five a day in the UK. The NHS recommends basing your meals on high fibre, starchy carbs to help you feel fuller for longer. Around a third of your food should be starchy carbs.
- Add extra veg to your meals. Broccoli, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, carrots, and peas are all high in fibre and great additions to meals.
- Opt for wholegrain versions where possible.
- Go for fruit, nuts, or wholegrain crackers as snacks.
- Include beans or lentils in soups, stews, and sauces.
Fruit and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These nutrients help boost immunity and improve overall health. A portion of fresh, canned, or frozen fruit or veg is 80g, or for dried, it’s 30g. Up to one small glass (150ml) of fruit or vegetable juice, or a smoothie, also counts as one portion (but may lack beneficial fibre).
How to stay hydrated
Hydration is an important part of healthy eating. Water, herbal teas and low-sugar drinks support concentration, digestion and appetite regulation. Aim for six to eight drinks (ideally, glasses of water) a day, more if you’re active.
Eat less salt
Too much salt can raise your blood pressure, making it more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke. Even if you don’t add extra salt to your food, many foods may have more salt than you realise. We should have 6g of salt or less a day. Learning how to read food labels can help you spot hidden salt and avoid accidentally eating too much.
Building a positive relationship with food
Healthy eating is also about your mindset. Try to avoid labelling foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, eat mindfully, leave room for foods you enjoy and focus on balance rather than perfection. Building a positive relationship with food makes healthy eating more sustainable.
Answering your questions on how to have a healthy, balanced diet
Is a balanced diet the same as healthy eating?
A balanced diet and healthy eating overlap. A balanced diet emphasises nutrients and variety. Healthy eating also involves habits, lifestyle, and your relationship with food.
Do I need to cut out certain foods to eat healthily?
Not typically. Restrictive diets can cause nutrient gaps and can also lead to unhelpful thoughts about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. A balanced diet can include all foods in moderation unless you have a medical reason to avoid something.
Is healthy eating expensive?
It doesn’t have to be. Frozen fruit and veg, tinned fish, beans, lentils, oats and seasonal produce are all budget-friendly ways of including healthy, nutrient-rich foods in your diet. Discover more about how to eat healthily on a budget.
What are the healthiest foods to eat?
There is no single ‘healthiest’ food you should focus on eating. Instead, aim for variety. Fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, lean proteins, legumes, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats all support a healthy, balanced diet.
How a nutritionist can support your healthy eating goals
A nutritionist can help you understand your needs, set realistic goals and build habits that support your well-being. If you're not sure where to start or want guidance tailored to your lifestyle, working with a professional can help. A nutritional professional can make healthy eating feel more manageable and inspiring.
Healthy eating is about balance, variety and small, sustainable changes. By focusing on habits that support your body, you can build a balanced diet that helps you feel at your best.
