Healthy eating

Cutting down on salt is only part of eating healthily. Eating a healthy diet that is high in fruit and vegetables, high in fibre, and low in salt and fat (especially saturated fat) can help to:

Even though lots of people think they're eating a healthy diet, often they're not. Most people in the UK don't eat enough fruit and veg or fibre and they eat too much salt and fat, especially saturated fat.

Fruit and veg
We should all aim to eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg each day. Fresh, frozen, tinned and dried fruit and veg all count towards your daily portions. And juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day. One portion is, for example:

Fibre
Eating a diet that is high in fibre can help to lower your cholesterol levels, which could reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

To increase the amount of fibre you eat, try to eat wholegrain varieties of starchy foods, such as wholemeal bread, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholegrain pasta. Getting enough fibre is another good reason to eat plenty of fruit and veg.

Fats
Eating foods that are high in unsaturated fats can help prevent heart disease by reducing your cholesterol levels. These include:

• avocados
• nuts (choose unsalted)
• vegetable oils such as sunflower, olive, corn, walnut and rapeseed

Eating foods that are high in saturated fat increases the risk of developing heart disease. This is because this type of fat can raise your cholesterol levels. Foods that are high in saturated fat include:

• meat pies
• sausages
• butter, ghee and lard
• cream
• hard cheese
• cakes and biscuits
• foods containing coconut or palm oil

So, try to reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat and choose foods containing unsaturated fats instead. It's also important to reduce the total amount of fat you eat.

Find out more about healthy eating on our eatwell site.