There is so much nutrition information on the internet it is sometimes difficult to know whether what you are reading is right or not.
So here are some tools that will equip you when planning a healthy lunch for yourself and your family.
Below are our top tips for recognising good sources of nutrition information.
Other countries would have similar agencies and these may even have local branches in your local area or websites that you can consult for further information.
It is important that you only follow these types of diets if you have a diagnosed reason to follow them, so that you ensure that your diet remains balanced.
Your local Dietitian can help with balancing your diet (considering your needs to be free of a particular nutrition or food), so it is really important that you consult an accredited or registered Dietitian in your local area to help with this.
The best way to ensure you are consulting someone appropriately qualified is to consult your country's Dietitian's Association (in Australia that is the Dietitians Association of Australia, in the US, the American Dietetic Association (ADA), in the UK it is the British Dietetic Association (BDA) and in Canada it is the Dietitians of Canada).
Other countries have equivalent accreditation or registration qualifications, so please check with your country's association.
Each of these agencies will have either a list of Dietitians in your local area or a symbol/credentials that a Dietitian must have that will indicate that the Dietitian is appropriately qualified to assist you.
Spotting credible nutrition information isn't as tricky as first thought, by simply following these principles you will be planning a healthy lunch for you and your family with ease.
Please remember that any specific dietary information you may need for special diets, please consult the appropriate health professional.
So, spotting good quality nutrition information is as simple as being aware of who is providing the information, whether it is cutting out particular food groups, whether the change it is suggesting is sustainable long term, and whether it is consistent with appropriate nutritional agencies.
But following their principles you will be able to ascertain whether the nutritional information you have in front of you is high quality nutrition information.
So here are some tools that will equip you when planning a healthy lunch for yourself and your family.
Below are our top tips for recognising good sources of nutrition information.
- Ensure that the information is not eliminating any of the food groups.
This will help you recognise whether you are going to be missing any nutrients.
A diet that includes all of the food groups ensures that you get all that you need to, so it goes without saying that if you skip a particular food group you are going to miss out on a bunch of important nutrients. - Ensure that it is something that is sustainable longer term.
A diet that is for the short term and not a lifelong change, is not going to help you in the long run.
There are so many fad diets out there, that are here today and gone tomorrow, it is hard to know how they are going to benefit you.
Most fad diets tend to cut out a particular food group and are generally something that you wouldn't be able to continue to practice for the rest of your life.
You always want something that allows you to make a change that is one that you can continue, as this will ensure that any health benefits of the change can be held for the remainder of your life.
If you know that it is unsustainable, don't go there. - Keep in mind that if nutrition information is credible it will be peer reviewed.
This means that there are many other nutrition professionals that agree with the position and that there is high quality research behind the information.
The best way to confirm the credibility of the nutrition information is to ensure that the information you are checking on, is consistent with what the government nutrition agency or nutrition professional bodies are saying.
In Australia these type of sources would be:
Other countries would have similar agencies and these may even have local branches in your local area or websites that you can consult for further information.
- A note on special diets:
It is important that you only follow these types of diets if you have a diagnosed reason to follow them, so that you ensure that your diet remains balanced.
Your local Dietitian can help with balancing your diet (considering your needs to be free of a particular nutrition or food), so it is really important that you consult an accredited or registered Dietitian in your local area to help with this.
The best way to ensure you are consulting someone appropriately qualified is to consult your country's Dietitian's Association (in Australia that is the Dietitians Association of Australia, in the US, the American Dietetic Association (ADA), in the UK it is the British Dietetic Association (BDA) and in Canada it is the Dietitians of Canada).
Other countries have equivalent accreditation or registration qualifications, so please check with your country's association.
Each of these agencies will have either a list of Dietitians in your local area or a symbol/credentials that a Dietitian must have that will indicate that the Dietitian is appropriately qualified to assist you.
Spotting credible nutrition information isn't as tricky as first thought, by simply following these principles you will be planning a healthy lunch for you and your family with ease.
Please remember that any specific dietary information you may need for special diets, please consult the appropriate health professional.
So, spotting good quality nutrition information is as simple as being aware of who is providing the information, whether it is cutting out particular food groups, whether the change it is suggesting is sustainable long term, and whether it is consistent with appropriate nutritional agencies.
But following their principles you will be able to ascertain whether the nutritional information you have in front of you is high quality nutrition information.
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