Eat healthy

• Most adults should eat at least five serves of vegetables (75g a serve) every day.¹
• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should eat at least 7 serves of vegetables every day.
• Children under 8 years need around 3 serves of vegetables every day.
• One serve is equal to 75g of vegetables.

Download our printable number of serves guide (PDF).

• 1 handful of cooked vegetables
• 1 fist-size starchy vegetable, such as potato, sweet potato, yams, squash or taro.
• 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables, like carrot, broccoli or sweetcorn
• 1/2 cup of frozen vegetables
• 1 small potato
• 1 cup of raw celery, carrot and capsicum sticks
   

• ‘Eat the rainbow’— mix different coloured vegetables into your diet each day to get the benefits of a variety of nutrients and fibre.
• Prepare your vegetables in different ways - try them raw, baked, or steamed. Add seasoning, such as herbs and spices, for extra flavour.
• Make veggie soups for an easy way to consume multiple servings at once.
• Experiment with veggie noodles as a great way to get more veggies in your day. Use a spiraliser or mandoline to make zucchini noodles (zoodles), sweet potato and squash noodles. Cook them like you would pasta and eat them with sauces, other vegetables, or lean meats.
• Blend veggies into your favourite smoothie recipe. Fresh leafy, greens are common smoothie additions. You can also add avocado, cucumber and cauliflower.

• Adults should eat at least two serves of fruit every day.¹
• One serve is equal to 150g of fruit.

Download our printable number of serves guide (PDF).

• 1 medium apple, orange, banana or pear
• 2 small apricots, kiwi fruit, or plums
• 1 cup of diced or canned fruit (no added sugar)
• 1 cup diced melon
• 32 seedless grapes (approximately)
• 1 large peach
• 1 cup blueberries

Download our printable visual serving size guide (PDF).

• If you are craving something sweet, reach for a piece of fruit or make a healthy fruit smoothie.
• Choose fruits that are in-season, have a longer shelf-life and require minimal preparation. These are usually apples, bananas, grapes, pears and mandarins. They are easy to grab to eat on the go, or to pack in a lunchbox. 
• Display your fruit in a bowl on your kitchen countertop as a reminder to eat your daily recommended serving.   
• Top your porridge or cereal with fruits for breakfast. Or add sliced orange, mango or pear to your lunch time salad. 

Wholegrain cereals (wholegrains) include wheat, rice corn, oats, rye, barley and millet.

Wholegrains have three layers to their grain and wholemeal foods are made from wholegrains which have been crushed to a finer texture. 

White bread and white rice are examples of refined cereals which are made from only one layer of the grain and therefore contain less fibre than wholegrains or wholemeal foods.  

Examples of wholegrain cereals and wholemeal foods include:

• Wholemeal or multigrain bread, muffins and crumpets
• Wholegrain or whole-wheat breakfast cereals or museli
• Wholemeal or mixed grain crisp bread
• Brown rice and brown rice cakes
• Wholemeal pasta
• Oats
• Quinoa, corn, unpearled barley, millet or amaranth 
• Cracked wheat (bulgur)

• Adults under 50 years of age should eat 6 serves of mostly wholegrain cereals and wholemeal foods every day.
• Adults between 50–70 years of age, should eat 4–6 serves every day.
• Adults over 70 years of age, should eat 3 serves every day.

Download our printable number of serves guide (PDF).

• 1 slice of wholemeal or wholegrain bread
• ½ cup of cooked porridge or oats
• 3 wholemeal or mixed grain crisp breads 
• ½ cup or 1 cupped hand of cooked rice or quinoa
• ½ cup of cooked wholemeal pasta
• ½ cup of cooked wholegrain noodles

Download our printable visual serving size guide (PDF).

• Make some simple swaps: replace white rice with quinoa or brown rice, opt for buckwheat (soba) noodles over rice noodles, choose whole wheat pastas instead of white, and replace white bread with wholegrain and wholemeal varieties. 
• For breakfast, opt for porridge, low-sugar Bircher muesli, or toasted whole grain bread. 
• For lunch, try a wholemeal salad wrap or soup with a whole grain bread roll.
• For dinner, cook up a stir fry with buckwheat noodles, add barley to soups and casseroles, or make a salad using different grains like brown rice, wholemeal pasta or quinoa.

Examples include red kidney beans, soybeans (edamame), lima beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, lentils, and split peas.

• ½ cup of cooked, dried or canned legumes/beans is equal to 1 serve of vegetables -  aim to eat 5 serves of vegetables each day.
• 1 cup of cooked, dried or canned legumes/beans is equal to 1 serve of protein-rich foods - aim to eat 2–3 serves of protein-rich foods each day.

Download our printable number of serves guide (PDF) and visual serving size guide (PDF).

• Canned legumes and beans are a simple and easy meal option as they come pre-cooked and ready to eat. Simply, add a can of washed chickpeas, black beans or cannellini beans to salads, rice or stews without needing to cook them.
• Opt for chickpea or lentil pasta. There are plenty of options in your local supermarket to try that taste just as delicious as white pasta. 
• Some products made from legumes and beans, such as plant-based burgers, may have added amounts of salt and sugar in them. It is a good idea to read the label of any pre-packaged food you are buying.

Studies show that certain chemicals in red and processed meats – both added and naturally occurring – cause these foods to be carcinogenic (cancer causing).

Haem iron is the substance that makes meat red. When haem is broken down in the digestive system it forms chemicals that can damage cells in the bowel that can lead to cancer. Processed meat is often made from red meat and preserved by adding nitrates. Nitrates when broken-down during digestion also form chemicals that can cause cancer. Processed meat has been labelled as a Group 1 carcinogen (like tobacco smoking and asbestos) as it causes bowel cancer and may increase the risk of five other types of cancer.¹ Processed meat is also high in saturated fat and salt which have been linked to some cancers.

• Red meat is any type of muscle meat from beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse and goat.
• To reduce your risk of cancer, Cancer Institute NSW recommends eating no more than 455g cooked lean red meat per week. This is 65 grams a day - about the size of your palm.
• A serving is equal to ½ cup of mince, two small chops, or two slices of lean roast meat. 

Processed meat includes bacon, ham, devon, mortadella, corned beef (silverside), frankfurts, chorizo, cabanossi and other salami and sausages. 

Cancer Institute NSW recommends avoiding processed meat, as there is strong evidence that it causes bowel cancer.

• Add more vegetables and legumes/beans to stews, curries and casseroles for a hearty, fibre and protein-rich meal.
• Substitute with a hard boiled egg, tofu or flaked tuna on your salad or sandwich. 
• Use avocado instead of bacon or another processed meat. Avocado contains healthy fats and proteins. It goes well with your morning eggs. It tastes great on a sandwich too. 
• Add vegetables like sweet potato and tomatoes or low-fat cheese to an omelette, instead of bacon, ham or sausage.

• Adults should eat no more than one teaspoon (6g) a day - including from pre-prepared food.

• Taste your food first before immediately adding salt to it.
• Try adding more flavour to your food using other ingredients such as olive oil, vinegar, spices or lemon juice.
• Choose fresh or frozen vegetables - canned vegetables tend to have salt added.
• Choose reduced salt bread and breakfast cereals. Breads and cereals are a major source of salt.
• Avoid processed foods, such as flavoured instant pasta or noodles, canned or dehydrated soup mixes, chips and salted nuts.
• Use ‘no added salt’ margarine and butter.
• Reduce the amount of soy sauce, tomato sauce and processed sauces and condiments (for example mayonnaise and salad dressings) you use on your food as they contain a lot of salt.

When it comes to preventing cancer and maintain your health, we recommend avoiding the consumption of sugary drinks altogether and limit sweetened foods.

• Make water your drink of choice. Add some flavour with a slice of lemon, lime or orange.
• Choose wholegrain breakfast cereals. Add some fruit for sweetness instead of sugar.
• Try some natural honey to sweeten your tea and coffee.
• Grab some fruit as a snack, rather than a biscuit or a piece of cake.
• Enjoy banana or ricotta on your toast in the morning, instead of jam.

• Healthy men and women should drink no more than 10 standard drinks each week and no more than four on any day.
• Anyone under 18 years of age and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning a pregnancy, should not drink at all. 

* Unsure of what is a standard drink? Learn how many standard drinks are in a common glass and keep track of your drinking using the Drinks Meter app.

• Commit to having a few alcohol-free days each week. Not only will you lessen your cancer risk, you will also see immediate physical and mental benefits, not to mention the cost savings.
• Set yourself a drink limit and keep track of the number of drinks you are consuming using The Drinks Meter app.
• Swap to low or no alcohol alternatives. Some popular alternatives include, soda water, non-alcoholic spirits, low or no alcohol beer, cider or wine, mocktails, kombucha and sparkling juice.
• Setting up a personal support network or finding no-drinking “buddies” can be extremely helpful to start and sustain a goal of reducing your alcohol intake. Your support network does not have to be made up of just friends or family, it could be an online community. If you find it hard to talk to friends about cutting back on alcohol, an organised community like Hello Sunday Morning, can be a good start.

** Important note: For some people, suddenly stopping drinking can make them feel physically and emotionally unwell. If you feel sick, sweaty or cannot sleep when trying to cut down on your drinking – you may be experiencing withdrawal symptoms and should see your doctor. If in doubt don’t stop drinking but seek medical advice.**