Healthy eating is good for everyone. Lots of fruit, lots of fresh vegetables is good, but not enough. In addition to fruits and vegetables, other foods are also necessary for a healthy diet. The ‘wheel of five’ has been developed to map out all the foods required daily for a good diet. The ‘wheel of five’ is unique to the Netherlands, other countries have nutritional triangles or a nutritional pyramid.

Contents

• Five nutritional rules in the scale of five
• Five boxes in the bracket of five
• Not just what you eat but also how much
• Moving in the disk of five

Five nutritional rules in the scale of five

A new drive was developed almost six years ago. The disc contains five food lines and five food boxes. The five nutritional rules are:

1. Eat a varied diet : Choose foods from all categories. Fruit and vegetables are indeed healthy, but they must be supplemented with other products.

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1. Not too many : Too many calories per day automatically means weight gain. This also means being moderate with alcohol, sweets, salt and just eating for three times.
2. Less saturated fat : It is recommended to choose unsaturated fats found in vegetable oil and low-fat margarine. (the mnemonic: unsaturated is okay )
3. Lots of vegetables, fruit & bread : This is especially important because of the enormous amount of fiber it contains. Fiber contains few calories but is filling. In addition, a fiber-rich diet offers protection against cardiovascular disease.
4. Safety : Hygiene is paramount when preparing food but also while eating.

Five boxes in the bracket of five

In addition to the five nutritional rules, the disk consists of five compartments. The five boxes symbolize five food groups. Each compartment in the disk is not the same size. Vegetables, fruit, bread, potatoes, grains, rice and pasta together dominate half of the disk. Smaller compartments are available for dairy, meat (or substitutes), fish, eggs, fats and drinks. The size of the box indicates the importance of the box. The top two are supplemented by the bottom boxes.

1. Fruit & vegetables : for vitamins, minerals, fiber and bioactive substances. There is a lot of space in the disk for this important group.

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1. Bread, grains, potatoes, rice, pasta and legumes : This is the second important group with carbohydrates, proteins, fiber, B vitamins and minerals.
2. Dairy, meat (products), fish, egg and meat substitutes : protein, minerals such as calcium, B vitamins and fish fatty acids. The smaller group in the disk and a block of Tofu has also been considered, but nuts also belong to this group.
3. Oil & fats : for essential fatty acids and vitamins A, D & E.
4. Fluid/drink : for the necessary water. (no soft drinks or alcohol)

Extra : No, there is no room on the disc for all kinds of extras. Many food pyramids often have a small top for sweets. In the Netherlands it was decided to remove this. Sweets mainly provide many extra calories and saturated fats (mnemonic: saturated is wrong ) but virtually no fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Not just what you eat but also how much

The amounts recommended by the Nutrition Center:

• Bread 5-6 slices
• Potatoes 3 – 5
• Vegetable 3-4 serving spoons

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• Fruit 2 times
• Milk/milk products 2-3 glasses (450 ml.)
• Cheese 1 ½ slice
• Meat, fish, chicken, egg, meat substitute 100 g (raw) 75 g (cooked)
• Meat 1-2 slices
• Halvarine/margarine 5 g per slice of bread
• Oil for preparation 15 g
• Liquid 1½ liters (with milk added)

This is an average diet for an adult, children have a different diet. Probably reassuring to many , cheese is still allowed, although the cheese disappeared in the new slice. In general, it is recommended to choose 20+ or 30+ cheeses, something we rarely do in the Netherlands.

Moving in the disk of five

In Flanders, the entire bottom layer of the nutritional triangle was dedicated to exercise. The disk seems to have little space for this. Usually the second rule in the disc is for this, don’t eat too much and exercise. Everyone should exercise 30 minutes a day. Exercise is a broad concept, walking 15 minutes to the store is exercise and so is running in the park. A bonus for that half hour is that you burn extra through exercise and have a little more room for a little something extra.