Nutrition

MORE DETAILED INFORMATION to improve your diet

Taken from Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 [PDF*]

Click here to visit ChooseMyPlate.gov

BALANCE TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE TO MANAGE WEIGHT

• Monitor food intake - be aware of how much you eat and drink.
  • Read food labels.
  • Consider keeping a food diary.
• Prepare, serve and eat smaller portions.
  • Avoid oversized portions.
  • Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Start the day with a nutritious breakfast - this helps keep you satisfied and actually helps decrease total daily calorie intake.
• Focus on a plant-based diet, which will provide important nutrients and help you feel fuller while eating fewer calories.

FOODS TO INCREASE

• Eat more fruits and vegetables.
  • Fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables.
  • Include a variety of dark green, red and orange vegetables.
• Eat more whole grains.
  • Choose brown rice, barley, quinoa, bulgur, millet, whole grain breakfast cereal, oatmeal, whole wheat bread.
  • Replace refined grains, like white rice and breads, with whole grains.
• Choose nonfat or low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt or soy beverages.**
• Choose a variety of protein foods which include beans (such as lentils, kidney, garbanzo, black, pinto), peas, seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, soy products, nuts and seeds.
• Drink more water.
• Use vegetable oils to replace butter or stick margarine, where possible.

FOODS TO REDUCE

• Keep daily sodium (salt) intake low - less than one teaspoon (2300 mg) a day or less than 3/4 of a teaspoon (1500 mg) if you are over 50 years old.
  • Check sodium content on food labels and choose the foods with low numbers.
  • Eat less processed foods and more fresh foods.
  • Eat more home-cooked meals and don't add salt.
  • When eating out ask them to hold the salt.
• Drink fewer sugar-sweetened drinks.
  • Limit soda, sports drinks, fruit-flavored drinks and sweetened teas.
  • Check out these YouTube clips from the New York City Department of Health.
    Man Eating Sugar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62JMfv0tf3Q ;
    Man Drinks Fat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mti2aypew 
• Eat less saturated fat.**
  • Saturated fat is found in animal products such as red meat (beef, pork, lamb), cheese, whole milk, butter, ice cream, and lard.
  • Keep meat portions small.
  • Trim fat from meats.
• Limit or avoid processed meats such as franks, sausages, bacon, and luncheon meats.
• Eat less cholesterol.
  • Cholesterol is found in animal products such as egg yolks, dairy products and meat.
  • Choose nonfat or low-fat products when eating dairy foods.
• Keep intake of trans fats to a minimum.  http://www.albanycounty.com/notransfat/
  • Trans fats are found in foods like stick margarine, fried foods, and foods with partially hydrogenated oils such as store bought cakes, cookies and crackers.
• Limit intake of refined grains such as breads, white rice, tortillas, and desserts.

**DID YOU KNOW?
Reducing the amount of animal fats you eat and choosing low-fat or fat-free milk and dairy products can also reduce your exposure to potentially harmful chemical pollutants, such as dioxin, which may be associated with a number of harmful health effects, including cancer.
Another reason to make the healthy choice!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES to help you develop a healthy eating pattern »

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