Building a healthy diet | Expert advice Dr Joanna McMillan

It can sometimes be overwhelming when you’re planning your weekly meals and you can’t quite figure out how to ensure you’re giving yourself the right vitamins and other nutrients.

From ever-changing diet hacks on TikTok to the next super-food or trending diet on Instagram, healthy has become overwhelming and confusing. 

Our diet choices should not be a one-size fits all approach.

It’s important to eat a variety of foods to maintain a balanced diet. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Each individual needs to consider several factors such as their likes and dislikes, lifestyle choices, cultural background and nutritional needs to arrive at an optimal, personalised diet.

The main thing to remember is there is not one healthy diet, there are many. 

A lot of people might wonder, what are the building blocks to success when it comes to a healthy diet? 

Firstly, my advice is instead of choosing pre-packaged “healthy” options, which are often ultra-processed foods claiming to be healthy, make the foundation of your diet whole, minimally processed foods such as fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs, lean meat, and fish (and other seafood) into your diet.

While health food aisles teem with organic, sugar-free, or low-calorie marketing claims, the best and safest option is always to opt for fresh whole foods. 

The foundation of our diets should be more whole, real foods and less of the packaged alternatives for better overall health.

Planning your own meals will allow you to see how much you’re actually eating. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The best way to achieve this is by doing more cooking and food prep at home, simply basing meals around nutrient dense, whole foods and start with the basics.

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Fill half your plate with veggies at most meals, add a protein-rich food to fill a quarter of the plate – think lean meat, seafood, eggs, dairy, beans or tofu – fill the last quarter of the plate with what I call a ‘smart carb,’ so this means wholegrains or legumes, and lastly be sure to include a good fat such as extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds or avocado to balance up the meal with fat-soluble nutrients and antioxidants. 

It’s well known that we should eat at least five vegetables a day, yet many of us don’t. We really do benefit from ‘eating the rainbow’.

That means including fruits and veg of all different colours.

Each colour carries its own set of unique disease fighting chemicals called phytochemicals. (Getty)

The colour usually comes from the antioxidant present and so by eating purple, blue, red, brown, green, yellow, orange and every colour in between, you get a wonderful diversity of different antioxidants. 

Fortunately, most of the recommended whole foods are versatile and affordable.

Eggs for instance, make a great nutrient boost for any meal, helping you stay fuller for longer. Eggs are mother nature’s original superfood, packed with 13 essential vitamins and minerals, including 12.7 grams of protein per serve of 2 eggs. Protein should be included in each of your three meals a day as this helps with appetite control and body composition, ensuring you maintain or build muscle mass.

Second, make sure you’re eating regular meals and portions for you.

Understandably for some people it may be difficult to know where to start. 

Health professionals like dietitians and your GP are here to help you with eating a healthy, balanced diet.

And although there can be a lot of misinformation out there, websites such as australianeggs.com.au are a great place to start when looking for recipe inspiration and ways to incorporate healthy foods into tasty meals.

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