Healthy eating

What and how much you eat and drink, and being physically active are important for your health.

Being healthy improves your quality of life and your sense of wellbeing. Being healthy also means that you are more likely to be around longer for your whānau.

Healthy eating:

helps your body to work well and helps you to feel good
can lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers and help you to have a healthy bodyweight
means eating a variety of foods that give you the nutrients your body needs.

Eat from the four food groups

Enjoy a variety of nutritious foods, including:

Plenty of vegetables and fruit

Grain foods, mostly whole grain and those naturally high in fibre

Some milk and milk products, mostly low- and reduced-fat

Some legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and other seafood, eggs or poultry, or red meat with the fat removed.

Legumes include lentils, split peas, chickpeas and cooked dried beans (eg, red kidney beans, baked beans).

Find out more at The four food groups.

Making healthier food choices

Choose and/or prepare foods:

with unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats
that are low in salt (sodium); if using salt, choose iodised salt
with little or no added sugar
that are mostly ‘whole’ or less processed.

Find out more at Making healthier food choices, including tips on choosing between packaged foods and on how to eat less saturated fat, sugar and salt.

For advice on diets, see our Popular diets review and Spotting good and poor weight loss diets.

Food safety

Food safety is about making sure that food is safe to eat. Harmful bacteria and viruses (bugs) can live in some foods, and if the food is not safely gathered, prepared, cooked or stored the bugs can make you or other people ill.

Buy or gather, prepare, cook and store food in ways that keep it safe to eat.

Check the Ministry for Primary Industries site for advice and tips.

Nutrition for mums and younger children

Pregnancy and early childhood are a special time for you and baby.

Healthy eating tips

Get practical tips and advice in our healthy eating guides.

Eating for Healthy Babies and Toddlers/Ngā kai tōtika mō te hunga kōhungahunga

Eating for Healthy Children aged 2 to 12/Ngā Kai Tōtika mō te Hunga Kōhungahunga

Healthy Eating for Young People aged 13–18

Healthy Eating, Active Living

Eating for Healthy Vegetarians/Ngā kai tōtika mā te hunga puku-huawhenua

Eating for Healthy Older People/Te kai tōtika e ora ai te hunga kaumātua

More resources

See more resources about healthy eating on HealthEd.

In this section

The four food groups

Enjoy a variety of nutritious foods, including plenty of vegetables and fruit, grain foods (mostly whole grain and those naturally high in fibre), some milk and milk products (mostly low- and reduced-fat), and some legumes, nuts, seeds, fish and other seafood, eggs or poultry, or red meat with the fat removed. Read more
Making healthier food choices

Tips on choosing between packaged foods and how to eat less saturated fat, sugar and salt. Read more
Drinks

Make plain water your first choice over other drinks. Read more
Food-related choking in young children

Young children can choke on food quite easily. Find out how to reduce the risk of food-related choking and keep your child safe. Read more
Iodine

Iodine is a nutrient that supports normal growth and development. Find out about getting enough iodine – especially if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Read more
Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for healthy bones. Find out about getting enough vitamin D safely. Read more

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