A balanced diet should consist of right amount of energy and nutrients from foods and drinks that help to improve overall health and maintain a healthy weight. The food groups to include in a healthy diet are: Fruits & vegetables, starchy foods like potatoes, bread and rice, proteins such as meat, fish, eggs and beans, dairy or dairy alternatives and unsaturated oils and spreads. Drink plenty of fluids as well. 

Portion size varies from person to person, depending on age, gender and physical activity level. You can identify the right amount of food for you by referring the chart recommended by Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) below:

Below is a standard portion size for some foods.

Carbohydrates often get a bad reputation as they are deemed ‘fattening’. But the truth is all foods, no matter from which food groups in excess makes us put on weight. Carbohydrates are not all bad; they are the major source of energy for our bodies, and like all things from nature, some tyoes are better for us and others, not so much. In summary, they can be divided into 2 groups:

Simple carbohydrates: Predominantly made up of sugar (ie. table sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup) and is broken down easily and absorbed readily into blood. This results in a blood sugar spike which places stress on our pancreas, leading to potential negative impacts in the long run.
Complex carbohydrates: Predominantly made of starches (grains, legumes, tuber). Compared to simple sugars, they contain more vitamins, minerals & fibre, take longer time to digest and have a slower and steadier impact on blood sugar.

To reap the healthy benefits from carbs, watch your portion size, cut down on simple carbohydrates and focus more on wholegrains (ie. brown rice, wholemeal bread, oatmeal, buckwheat) – a type of complex carbohydrate that contain more fibre, B vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients than their refined counterpart (ie. white rice, white bread, white flour).

It seems like every few months, we hear about a new ‘miracle’ diet that claims to be the best diet for your health. As tempting as it sounds, there is no one diet that fits all. Our bodies and lifestyle varies from one to another depending on age, activity level, body composition, accessibility to food, culture and personal preference.

Instead, focus on the 3 important keys for diet planning, which are: variety, balance and moderation. You can obtain all the nutrients our bodies require by eating a variety of foods from each food group (wholegrains, protein, dairy & alternatives, fruits & vegetables, healthier oil & fat), focus on healthier ingredients such as healthier oils, wholegrains, lean meat, less processed foods & simple sugars and drinking plenty of fluid.

Counting calories can help you to monitor food intake and eating patterns. However, this ballpark figure does not tell us anything about our diet quality. Food can be low in calories but nutrients scarce, or vice versa. Try to emphasize on both nutrient quality and calories rather than just calories itself. By doing so, we take into consideration the vitamin and mineral content of food as we make our food choices and prevents us from picking foods solely based on its calorie content.

Detox diets are more popular than ever. They are generally short term intervention that require one to limit their diet to certain foods or supplements in the form of a drink or juice, which purportedly helps to get rid of the waste and toxins accumulated in our bodies from unhealthy eating habits. While it is a popular trend to follow, there is currently very little clinical evidence to support the use of this diet.

Do our bodies need to detox in the first place? Currently there is no scientific evidence to support the fact that we need to detox as our bodies are designed to repair, regenerate and detoxify themselves. In fact, cutting back on key nutrients like protein might hinder our body ability to detoxify properly.