Today, quick weight loss and healthy eating messages can be seen everywhere and are aimed at everyone. Most people can make improvements in their health with a few simple changes to their diet.

What is a healthy diet?

Research has shown that certain diets can increase your risk of getting heart disease, having a stroke, or developing certain cancers. If you have an illness, what you eat can also affect whether you get better or how bad the symptoms are.

For many people, one of the biggest benefits of a healthy diet is weight loss. Obesity is one of the biggest health problems in the industrialized world as it increases your risk of getting heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and arthritis.

A healthy diet should include the right proportion and type of carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals to give the body energy and all the nutrients it needs for growth and repair. A healthy diet, whether for quick weight loss or simply protecting your health, should comprise a few simple rules:

1. Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day (except potatoes because they are high in carbohydrates). This isn't as hard as it sounds. For example, if you have a glass of fruit juice with your breakfast, a side salad and a piece of fruit with your lunch, and two vegetables with your evening meal, you've done it.

2. Eat less saturated fat. Our fat intake should make up only about 30 per cent of our daily calories and only 10 per cent should come from saturated fats.

3. Eat more fiber and make sure that about 50 per cent of your calories come from complex carbohydrates, which are found in starchy foods like whole wheat pasta and bread, rice, pulses, and cereals. You will probably find that, as you increase the amount of starchy foods you eat, you will eat less of the fatty ones.

4. Eat less sugar. It gives you energy but no other nutrients. One of the best ways of losing weight is to reduce the amount of sugary and high carbohydrate foods you eat.

5. Cut down on how much salt you eat because a high salt diet can lead to high blood pressure. Don't add it to food during cooking or at the table and avoid manufactured foods high in salt such as crisps and other snacks.

6. Get your protein from fish, poultry, pulses, cereal, and low-fat dairy products rather than red meat. Only 15 to 20 per cent of your daily calories need come from protein.

7. Avoid processed and 'junk' foods, as these are more likely to contain additives like preservatives, colorings, and flavorings, which may increase your risk of cancer. Be aware that 'natural' additives are not necessarily healthier.