For adults, the WHO guidelines recommend the following.
A healthy diet contains:
§ Fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g., lentils,
beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat,
brown rice).
§ At least 400 g (five portions) of fruits and
vegetables a day. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are
not classified as fruits or vegetables.
§ Less than 10% of total energy intake from free
sugars which is equivalent to 50 g (or around 12 level teaspoons) for a person
of healthy body weight consuming approximately 2000 calories per day, but
ideally less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits.
Most free sugars are added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or
consumer, and can also be found in sugars naturally present in honey, syrups,
fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
§
Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats.
Unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocado, nuts, sunflower, canola and olive
oils) are preferable to saturated fats (found in fatty meat, butter, palm and
coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard) and trans-fats of all kinds,
including both industrially-produced trans-fats (found in processed food, fast
food, snack food, fried food, frozen pizza, pies, cookies, biscuits, wafers,
margarine and spreads) and ruminant trans-fats (found in meat and dairy foods
from ruminant animals, such as cows, sheep, goats, camels and others). It is
suggested to reduce the intake of saturated fats to less than 10% of total
energy intake and trans fats to less than 1% of total energy intake. In
particular, industrially produced trans-fats are not part of a healthy diet and
should be avoided.
§ Less than 5 g of salt (equivalent to
approximately 1 teaspoon) per day and use iodized salt.
