Verdify has based its healthy eating diet on the British Eat Well Guide [1]. This guideline reflects what a healthy diet is according to the current scientific literature and therefore aims to prevent chronic diseases for the general population [2, 3].

The general recommendations are as follow:

 

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day;

• Base meals on potatoes, bread rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates and choose higher fibre wholegrain varieties;

• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks and yoghurts) and try to go for lower-fat and lower-sugar products where possible;

• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein;

• Aim for at least two portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily;

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and eat in small amounts;

• Eat foods high in fat, salt and sugar less often and in small amounts

• Drink plenty of fluids.

To sum up, the general aim of these principles is to increase the intake and the diversity of plant-based foods, lower animal source foods consumption, prefer unsaturated rather than saturated fats, limit the amounts of highly processed foods, refined grains, and free sugars and guarantee an optimal caloric intake.

Verdify starts from these recommendations to ensure that recipes contain the right number of calories and a big variety of fruit, vegetables and fibre-rich products. Furthermore, Verdify makes sure that recipes do not exceed the recommended intakes for free sugar, salt, saturated and trans-fats. More specifically, free sugar and saturated fats intakes do not exceed 10% of total recipe energy, salt must be below 6g and trans-fat must be limited to 1% of total recipe energy. Verdify’s attention is highly focused on these nutrients because they are, together with an unhealthy lifestyle, directly related to a higher risk of developing overweight, metabolic diseases, such as diabetes type II and cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer [4].

By simply filling-in some basic anthropometric measurements and the number of meals that a person usually consumes in a day, Verdify strives for the result that the recipes shown in the overview on Swapmeals, or on other recipe websites are fully in line with the guidelines and with your personal needs. The same will happen in case one or more specific diet options are selected. In simple words: healthy eating guidelines are the basis of Verdify-ID.

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Diet principles

 

• The recipes in the diet option ‘Healthy diet’ from Verdify are based on the British Eat Well Guide [1];

• Total daily energy intake is calculated according to personal information and body measurements through predictive equations. Afterwards, this result is spread according to meal frequency to line up with the guidelines for food choices [5];

• Saturated fats are limited to a maximum of 10% of total recipe energy and trans fat will be restricted to 2% of total recipe energy;

• Free sugar intake is limited to a maximum of 10% of total recipe energy;

• Total daily protein intake is calculated conforming to personal needs (0.75 g/kg/day). This amount gets adjusted according to sport level [6]. Then specific ranges of proteins are set for the different meal type;

• Specific ranges of salt have been set for all meal types. In this way, 6g of salt is divided over the usually consumed number of meals;

• Specific ranges of fibres have been set for all meal types. In this way, 30-40g of fibre is divided over the usually consumed number of meals.

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Scientific background

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The ‘Healthy diet’ offered by Verdify is based on the British Eat Well Guide [1]

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Disclaimer

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The Verdify diets do not have a medical function and are not a substitute for doctor's advice. Verdify recommends following this diet only under the guidance of an experienced dietitian. Find a local dietitian here.

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References

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1. National Health Service (NHS) (2019). The Eatwell Guide. Consulted on 18 February 2021, from: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/

2. The EAT-Lancet commission. (2020). Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems. Consulted on 18 February 2021, from: https://eatforum.org/content/uploads/2019/07/EAT-Lancet_Commission_Summary_Report.pdf

3. World Health Organisation (WHO) (2020). Healthy diet. Consulted on 18 February 2021, from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

4. Van Dooren, C. & Kramer, G. (2012). Food patterns and dietary recommendations in Spain, France and Sweden. LiveWell for Life.

5. Voedingscentrum. (2011). Richtlijnen Voedselkeuze. Consulted on 18 February, from https://www.voedingscentrum.nl/Assets/Uploads/voedingscentrum/Documents/Professionals/Voedselvoorlichting/01_Richtlijnen%20voedselkeuze%20Voedingscentrum.pdf

6. Wardenaar, F., Maas, T., Pannekoek, S., Danen, S., Van Leijen, E. & Van Dijk, J.W. (2014). Richtlijn 36: Wedstrijdsport. Consulted on 18 February 2021, from https://www.dieetbehandelingsrichtlijnen.nl/richtlijnen/36HK_wedstrijdsport_1.html