FOOD ENERGY BALANCE

The food energy balance between Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein. If your protein intake is above the RNI and below the Excess amount, then this is perfectly acceptible. Try not to exceed the percentage of total fat. Although fat is an essential part of the diet (we require essential fatty acids), too much is associated with many conditions (including cancer and coronary heart disease). High amounts of carbohydrate, however, have no (condition associated) undesirable effects. This does not mean that you should eat as much carbohydrate as you can. If you eat more food than you require, in any form, your body will store the energy it does not need as fat, for use in times of hardship. In other words 60% carbohydrate, 25% fat, 15% protein is a far better balance than 40% carbohydrate, 45% fat, 15% protein. Watch out for fibre - there is an excess amount. Fibre is not part of the food energy balance. Then try to achieve a reasonable fatty acid balance. See help on Cholesterol. Meat and dairy products tend to be high in saturates, while fish, vegetable oils and spreads tend to be high in polyunsaturates (watch out for trans-fatty acids). Try to obtain your carbohydrate from complex carbohydrates ie intrinsic and milk sugars and starch rather than added sugars (see Carbohydrate for more details), by eating a variety of vegetables, fruits and cereal products.

The Food Energy Balance compares desirable percentage contributions to total food energy to your actual food energy intakes. The more equal in length the graphical representations of the food energies are, in comparison to the graphical representation of your actual Calorie intake (not the AVG marker, unless you are eating exactly the EAR for Calories), the closer you have come to the desirable food energy balance. In other words, the idea is to make all the graphical representations, except fibre, as equal in length as possible, compared to your actual Calorie intake, whether you are eating more than the EAR for Calories or less. NOTE - this is not applicable to young children.

DO NOT BECOME OVERLY OCCUPIED, ATTEMPTING TO EQUAL THESE FIGURES. They are desirable percentages for the population. Instead, attempt to achieve a reasonable balance over a number of days, and by eating a variety of foods.