The FoodPyramid
can help you put the Dietary Guidelines
into action. The pyramid illustrates the research-based food guidance
developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and supported by the
Department of Health and Human Services.
It is based on USDA's research on what
foods Americans eat, what nutrients are in these foods, and how to make
the best food choices to promote good health.
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It outlines what to eat each day, but
it is not a rigid prescription. You can use it as a general guide in
choosing a healthful diet that is right for you.
The foodpyramid calls for eating
a variety of foods to get the nutrients you need, and, at the same time,
the right amount of calories to maintain a healthy weight. |
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It's your average intake over a few days,
not in a single food or even a single meal, that's important. If you eat
a high-fat food or meal, balance your intake by choosing low-fat foods
the rest of the day or the next day. The new food label can help you
"budget" your intake of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium over
several days.
The new food label also can help you identify good sources of fiber and
vitamins and minerals.
To help you lose weight -
look to the Label
How does it do this? First, descriptors
such as "free," "low" or "reduced" on the front of the package can
signal that a food is low in a certain dietary component, such as
calories, fat, saturated fat, or sodium. Eating those foods can then
help you moderate your intake of these and other nutrients.
Descriptors such as "good source" and "high" can help you identify foods
that contain significant amounts of dietary fiber, vitamins, and
minerals.
The food pyramid is
also called NUTRITION PYRAMID and helps you stop emotional eating.
Claims about the relationship between a
nutrient or a food and the risk of a disease or health-related condition
also may show up on the front of the package of FDA-regulated products.
These are called health claims, and FDA has authorized seven of them.
They can help you identify foods with certain nutritional qualities that
are of interest to you.
However, you don't have to select only foods with descriptors or health
claims on the label to follow the Dietary Guidelines. In moderation, all
foods can fit into a healthy diet.
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Second, look at the nutrition panel, now titled "Nutrition Facts." With
a few exceptions, the nutrition panel will list calories, calories from
fat, and the amount of nutrients of greatest public health concern
contained per serving of the food. Similar information also will be
available voluntarily for some raw foods.
On the nutrition panel, nutrient content will be expressed not only as
an amount by weight but also as a percent of the Daily Value, or DV - a
new label reference value.
These percentages can help you decide whether a food contributes a lot
or a little of a particular nutrient. Lower percentages indicate the
food contributes less of the nutrient, and higher percentages indicate
that it contributes more of the nutrient.
Look to see whether the nutrients you would like to get more of (such as
carbohydrate, dietary fiber, and vitamins and minerals) have high
percentages and the nutrients you may need to limit (such as fat,
cholesterol and sodium) have low percentages. The percent Daily Values,
while based on a 2,000-calorie diet, will indicate in a relative way the
nutritional contributions of a food to your diet regardless of your
calorie intake.
Also, because serving sizes are now more uniform across product lines,
comparing the nutritional content of foods is easier.
However, the amount of food you eat may be different from the stated
serving size. For example, the serving size for ice cream is a half cup,
so if you usually eat one cup of ice cream, you would have to double the
number of calories and the percentages of the Daily Values listed to
learn the nutrient content of the portion you eat.
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There are
many ways to create a healthy eating pattern, but they all start with
the three food groups at the base of the Pyramid: grains, fruits, and
vegetables. Eating a variety of grains (especially whole grain foods),
fruits, and vegetables is the basis of healthy eating. Enjoy meals that
have rice, pasta, tortillas, or whole grain bread at the center of the
plate, accompanied by plenty of fruits and vegetables and a moderate
amount of low-fat foods from the milk group and the meat and beans
group. Go easy on foods high in fat or sugars.
To lose weight you need to
take in fewer calories than you use. The FOODPYRAMID can help.
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