Table 1.

South African food-based dietary guidelines approved by Department of Health as a health promotion tool

Food-based dietary guideline	Underlying reason for guideline
Enjoy a variety of foods	Protection against micronutrient deficiencies
Be active	Prevention of non-communicable diseases
Make starchy foods the basis of most meals	Emphasising that carbohydrates also play a role. Also prevention of under-nutrition
Eat dry beans, peas, lentils and soya regularly	Affordable source of protein and minerals
Chicken, fish, milk, meat or eggs can be eaten daily	Promoting sources of animal protein and contributing to iron and calcium needs
Drink lots of clean safe water	To maintain healthy body hydration
Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables every day	For prevention of non-communicable diseases and micronutrient deficiencies. A
Eat fats sparingly	Prevention of non-communicable diseases
Use salt sparingly	Prevention of hypertension
Use food and drinks containing sugar sparingly and not between meals	Prevention of dental caries
If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly	Prevention of chronic alcoholism and micronutrient deficiencies