The Guidelines for Eating Healthy
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide scientifically formulated advice on daily food intake for maintaining health. The Food Pyramid illustrates these guidelines in terms of the number of servings of each of the food groups that should be eaten each day.
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Grains
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Look for whole-grain breads. A healthy diet should include six to 11 servings of breads, cereal, rice and pasta each day. At least half of the servings should be in the form of whole grains, which provide fiber.
Fruits and Vegetables
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Eat fruits and vegetables of different colors. Incorporate three to five vegetable servings and two to four fruit servings per day. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is the best way to ensure you aren't missing out on any nutrients.
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Meats and Dairy
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Chicken is a healthy meat choice, especially if prepared without the skin. Two to three servings a day from both the meat and dairy groups are recommended to obtain an adequate amount of protein and calcium. Options from these groups include milk, yogurt and cheese, or lean meats, poultry and fish. Eggs, beans and nuts also provide protein.
Limited Intake
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Cut back on sugar and sweets. A proper diet should be low in fat, sodium and added sugar. The USDA Dietary Guidelines suggest fat calories make up no more than 20 percent to 30 percent of total daily calories, and recommend limiting sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams or less per day. Added sugar intake should be limited to between 100 and 150 calories per day--the equivalent of 6 to 9 tsp.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit healthy eating #5 image by Adam Borkowski from Fotolia.com bread and wheat corn image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com fruit and vegetable salads image by araraadt from Fotolia.com chicken brest meat fillets image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com sugar image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
