Healthy Eating

The Eating with Dignity non-profit making charity is aimed at people when they are unwell and need to replace essential nutrients and calories.

But what can I do to maintain my health if I want to when I am well?

Below are some important general steps you could follow for the general population to try and remain healthy.

Prevention is generally more effective than treatment. Read more.

What to ask yourself when I look for information?

• Free or funded information?
• Who is the backer?
• Who stands to gain from this information?
• What is the potential motivation behind the advice? Are you comfortable with this?
• Are there any declared conflicts of interest?
• Does the advice apply to my situation?
• Is it up to date?

What could I check:

1) Weight and body shape

The best way to check if you need to reduce weight is by measuring your abdominal circumference. Whilst it is NOT possible to get guidelines that fit every country and culture, in general terms you should aim for <88cm for a female and 102cm for a male to avoid higher risks (evidence). This is more accurate than using weight or BMI alone.

Abdominal circumference is important because we now know that if the abdominal circumference increases above the recommended measurement so does the risk of unhealthy organ fats that can lead to increased risks of diabetes and heart disease.

2) Am I active?

This is as important as actual weight. Inactivity is a separate independent risk factor for disease. See the WHO guidance.

What is a healthy diet?

This is quite difficult. What really matters to one type of person will be different to another depending on location, culture and preference—this is human nature, and it means it is impossible to find a solution that would suit everyone.

There is disagreement between both professionals and the public about what is a healthy diet. It is quite complex and so below we concentrate on some basic areas where there is more agreement.

Since Eating with Dignity is an internet-based charity it would be ideal but impractical to get a representation of the national diet summary for all countries. Often a country will have an official government public health website, and this should be easy to find.

Useful plate guides & national resources

• Harvard Chan School of Public Health – The Healthy Eating Plate. See The Nutrition Source and Harvard Health Publications. Above image granted with non-exclusive permission: Copyright © 2011 Harvard University.
• UK NHS Eatwell Guide (Public Health England) – last updated 2016. The Eatwell Guide graphic is subject to Crown copyright and covered by an Open Government Licence; you may use and reuse it free of charge. PDF: Eatwell Guide.
• Australia (NHMRC) – Encourages dissemination/reuse of public sector information.

Back to basics (BTB)

Cooking from scratch is sometimes cheaper and healthier for you than processed foods. It certainly can take a little more time.

• Be careful with both the amount and the type of oil that you cook with or add to food.
• Plant-based fats are probably healthier than animal-based fats in general. This is a complex area; safest is to use relatively small, necessary amounts of the oil or fat you choose.
• Avoid trans fats and partially hydrogenated fats.
• Avoid fats that have been repeatedly reheated, as quality deteriorates and they can be more harmful.
• Try to avoid foods and fats that cause disproportionate environmental damage in their production or transport.
• Choose wholegrain products over processed carbohydrates.
• Choose water over sugary carbonated drinks or fruit juices.
• Consider limiting processed/preserved/cured meats to < 2 serves per week.
• Consider limiting total combined red meat servings to < 3 serves per week.
• Consider alternative protein sources from vegetables, nuts, pulses, fish and poultry.

www.eatingwithdignity.org
Updated April 2025