Food facts

A balanced diet provides the right quantities of food from the five main food groups:

* Carbohydrates (e.g. bread, rice, pasta, cereal)
* Dairy products (e.g. milk, cheese, yoghurt)
* Fruit and vegetables
* Protein (e.g. meat, fish, eggs, beans and nuts)
* Fats (e.g. animal products like meat and oily fish, and foods such as nuts and avocados)

You need more of some food groups than others and you should eat less salt, sugars and fats, although some fats are actually good for you! Your body also needs vitamins and minerals to function properly and a balanced diet should give you enough of these.