Remember, foods are not good or bad. The key to healthy eating is the time-tested advice of balance, variety and self-control. In short, that means eating a wide variety of foods without getting too many calories or too much of any one nutrient.
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| Healthy and nutritious foods These 6 tips can help you follow that advice while still enjoying the foods you eat. |
1. Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods
Your daily food choice should include bread and other whole-grain
products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and
other protein foods. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts
panel on food labels as handy references.
2. Enjoy
plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables
Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, and
cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4
servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some
of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for
tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.
3. Maintain
a healthy weight
Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood
pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other
illnesses. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy
weight.
4. Eat
moderate portions
If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to
eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid
for information on recommended serving sizes.
5. Eat
regular meals
Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control
hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also
tempting to forget about good nutrition.
6. Remember, foods are not good or bad
Select foods based on your
total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or
"bad."
Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.
The Food Guide Pyramid
The Food Guide Pyramid
is a practical tool to help you make food choices that are consistent with the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Using the Pyramid enables you to eat a
variety of foods daily so that you can get the nutrients you need.
To make the most of the
Pyramid, you need to know what counts as a serving.
- Food Group--Serving Size
- Bread--1 slice bread, 1\2 bagel or English muffin, 1
ounce ready-to-eat cereal, 1\2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta, or 5-6
small crackers
- Vegetable--1 cup raw, leafy vegetables, 1\2 cup cooked
or chopped raw vegetables or 3\4 cup vegetable juice
- Fruit--1 medium piece of fruit, 1\2 cup mixed fruit or
3\4 cup fruit juice
- Milk--1 cup milk or yogurt, 11\2 ounces natural cheese
or 2 ounces process cheese
- Meat--2 - 3 ounces cooked lean meat, poultry or fish
(about the size of a deck of cards)
- Other foods which count as 1 ounce meat: 1\2 cup cooked dry beans, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons peanut butter or 1\3 cup nuts
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