Basic Nutrition Guidelines
Nutrition is a hot topic everywhere, with differing opinions and approaches all around us. For honest, straightforward advice, there’s still nothing that beats the current USDA guidelines. They’re something everyone should know!
USDA Key Recommendations for the General Population
ADEQUATE NUTRIENTS WITHIN CALORIE NEEDS
• Consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups while choosing foods that limit the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol.
• Meet recommended intakes within energy needs by adopting a balanced eating pattern, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide or the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
• To maintain body weight in a healthy range, balance calories from foods and beverages with calories expended.
• To prevent gradual weight gain over time, make small decreases in food and beverage calories and increase physical activity.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
• Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.
• To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above usual activity, at work or home on most days of the week.
• For most people, greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or longer duration.
• To help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body weight gain in adulthood: Engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on most days of the week while not exceeding caloric intake requirements.
• To sustain weight loss in adulthood: Participate in at least 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while not exceeding caloric intake requirements. Some people may need to consult with a healthcare provider before participating in this level of activity.
• Achieve physical fitness by including cardiovascular conditioning, stretching exercises for flexibility, and resistance exercises or calisthenics for muscle strength and endurance.
FOOD SAFETY
• To avoid microbial foodborne illness:
• Clean hands, food contact surfaces, and fruits and vegetables. Meat and poultry should not be washed or rinsed.
• Separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, preparing, or storing foods. • Cook foods to a safe temperature to kill microorganisms.
• Chill (refrigerate) perishable food promptly and defrost foods properly.
• Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or any products made from unpasteurized milk, raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, unpasteurized juices, and raw sprouts.
Recently, the nutritional food guide pyramid was revised.
The revision, completed by the United States Department of Agriculture included new dietary guidelines to achieve a healthy, balanced diet The pyramid is geared especially towards proper nutrition for children. It focuses on larger amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In addition, the pyramid stresses the importance of exercise on a regular basis to improve childrens’ health.
On the pyramid there are six color coded categories for each food group:
• Orange: Grains
• Green: Vegetables
• Red: Fruits
• Blue: Dairy and calcium-rich foods
• Purple: Proteins (meats, beans, and fish)
• Yellow: Fats and oils Here is a bit of information from each food group:
Grains: The grains group, which includes foods like bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. These foods are high in complex carbohydrates, which are the body's fuel. Grains also provide other important nutrients such as vitamin B-complex (folate), which helps your body use the protein needed to build muscle.
Vegetables: Vegetables provide many of the vitamins and minerals needed for good health, and they provide fiber to aid digestion.
Fruits: Fruits are especially good sources of important vitamins like A and C. This food group also adds minerals such as potassium and fiber, which help digestion. It is best to eat fruits raw.
Dairy: The dairy group includes milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and is an excellent source of vitamins A and D. Diary products help strengthen bones and teeth as well as strengthening muscle and nerve functions.
Proteins: Proteins include meats, beans, and fish. These all contain vitamin B and iron to help bones grow strong and support muscles.
Fats, oils, and sweets: This group is essential to maintain body function and provide nutrition, but should be used sparingly
It is important to keep in mind that the serving sizes are a guideline and can differ day to day. In addition, always keep in mind that moderation is key to a healthy diet and the nutritional values of food can vary depending on how the food is prepared.
Nutritional Food Choices
One of the biggest reasons that diets and attempts at healthy eating fail is boredom. Many folks just do not know how to keep a healthy diet interesting day after day, and it can be quite a challenge. Given the huge variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meats and other healthy foods at the local grocery store, however, it is definitely possible to create exciting, nutritious meals that will keep that boredom at bay. However, it is important to check the nutritional qualities of the fruits and vegetables you buy, and not simply assume that all fruits and vegetables are equally healthy. As far as what to eat, buying anything at the grocery from the following list is a straight path to better health.
These foods include:
• Fruits like bananas, berries and apples
• Whole grains including bread and pasta
• Low-fat dairy including milk and yogurt
• Chicken, turkey and fish
• Vegetables like spinach, squash and tomatoes
• Natural peanut butter
• Beans and legumes
• Almonds and other nuts
Foods to avoid Refined foods are big industry, and draw a gigantic profit. When industries are accustomed to bringing in big profits, they do what any industry would do: protect those profits at all costs. In addition, these profits bring power, and information can be put forth, covered over, or otherwise manipulated to protect that power. Most people know which foods they should stay away from. The obvious ones include desserts, high-fat meals, candy, fast food and fried food. In fact, most people will feel a big difference simply by staying away from these kinds of foods.
The not-so-obvious ones include:
• Pasta • Fat-free foods
• Most frozen meals
• Processed meats like fake cold cuts
• Soda and juices
• Creamy meals
Your biggest weapon in the battle to eat right is common sense. Use it!
Nutritional Information
Nutritional information seems to be everywhere these days. The secret to feeding your family (and yourself) a healthful diet of healthy food is to read the labels. The United States Food & Drug Administration has laid out strict guidelines for nutritional labeling of all food products. The nutrition label will tell you all you need to know to choose real health foods. But with new FDA guidelines mandating more detailed info on the labels of every product you buy, it could become a case of overload very quickly.
To get you started, here are a few facts (and myths) about some of the more common, “healthy” snack foods you see nearly every day: Yogurt: This can be either very good or very bad for you, depending on several factors.
Real yogurt has two ingredients: milk (whole, skim or low fat) and live yogurt cultures. That's healthy food - calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein. However, much of the yogurt at the grocery store is loaded with various kinds of hidden sugars. Flavors like key lime pie, kiwi-raspberry, strawberry-banana, etc., usually means that heavy doses of sugar were added to generate that particular flavor. Many times, the actual "fruit" is of poor quality fruit and was too damaged or over-ripe to sell for raw produce. The solution? Buy plain, fat-free, sugarless yogurt, and add your own nuts, berries or fresh fruits to it. In this manner you have complete control over how healthy you wish your yogurt to be.
Granola bars: The first granola bars were identical to normal granola except for shape. Instead of a loose, breakfast cereal consistency, granola bars were pressed into a bar shape and baked into that shape. These granola bars often contain dried fruit, as normal granola. Granola bars have now evolved into expensive candy bars containing chocolate chips and gooey caramel. Whole wheat flour is bleached and denuded of its flavorful kernels.
Finally, here are some things to keep in mind when reading nutrition labels for health foods: * In the ingredient's portion of the nutrition label, ingredients are listed in order by amount. The ingredient that's listed first is the main ingredient, followed by the next largest amount, etc.
* The nutrition facts label must list each of the required nutrients even if the food provides 0% of the recommended daily value. * The nutrition facts label must list what portion of the food's calories is derived from fat, from sugar, from protein and from carbohydrates. It will also break down the fat into saturated and unsaturated fat.
Fast Food Nutrition Facts
Fast food is a lot of things. It is fast, convenient, and fun. But can it be healthy? Are too many 'Happy Meals' the reason that more kids today are overweight?
The rise in families substituting a trip to McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. for a family meal at home is likely one of the causes for the increase in overweight kids, but it is not the only cause. Other factors are also to blame, including an increased time watching TV and playing video games, decreased time in physical activity and unhealthy food choices.
An unhealthy food choices don't end at home, where kids may eat too many high fat and high calorie foods and snacks and sugary drinks. The choices you make when eating fast food can also determine how healthy or 'unhealthy' it is. How can you make fast food healthy? One of the easiest ways is to just watch your portion sizes and understand how many calories and how much fat you add to a meal when you 'super-size' your order. It might seem like a good 'value' to go with the special or large meal sizes, but think about what those extra calories will cost you later as your child tries to burn them off to lose weight.
Healthy Choices In addition to choosing smaller portion sizes, checking the menu at your favorite fast food restaurant will likely help you find other low calorie low fat alternatives to traditional fast foods that really are healthy. These might include a salad, baked potato, or grilled chicken salad. With other types of fast food, like pizza, choose a thin crust cheese pizza and avoid adding a lot of cheese or extra meat toppings. It can also help your child eat more healthy if you avoid 'fast food' at more traditional restaurants that you visit. It seems like almost every restaurant, whether it is Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc. has a kids' menu with high fat and high calorie foods, like chicken nuggets, french fries, etc. Instead of always relying on the kid's menu, consider getting a 1/2 order or child plate of a more traditional and healthier item at the restaurant.
Anti-aging Nutrition
As the first baby boomers enter their 60’s, research into ways to slow down the aging process has increased dramatically. The results of this research often creates more questions then it answers. Here’s a sampling of some of the various ways to try and hold back or slow down the aging process: If you think that cutting off all the fat from your diet is going to make you look better, think again. A move like that could age you faster instead. Your body needs essential fatty acids. EFAs help your body process the food to release the energy needed for your life processes. They are important in the transfer of oxygen in your body as well as the regulation of nutrients in and out of the cells among other things.
Plant nutrients also play a key role in anti aging. Fruit, vegetables, and plant extracts have an array of chemical constituents, called phytochemicals or phytonutrients, that are hugely beneficial to skin health and beauty.
Antioxidants are one class of phytonutrients, though there are many. Antioxidants work by supplying an extra oxygen molecule to those molecules that are missing one, called free radicals.
Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants neutralize the free radicals that would otherwise damage your skin cells, aging you more quickly. Consuming nuts, seeds and oils that are rich in vitamin E protects you from the aging effect of these free radicals by neutralizing the free radicals before they can cause damage.
A new diet on the anti-aging scene is the Perricone Prescription. It is not just a weight loss diet, but a way of eating that is supposed to soften wrinkles, firm the skin, reduce inflammation in the body, and increase energy. Dr. Perricone claims that in just three days, people will see the anti-aging effects of this diet. The staples of the diet are anti-inflammatory foods such as salmon and blueberries. Perricone says foods such as sugar, pasta, bread, bananas and other starches contribute to inflammation in the body and speed up the aging process. Whether you follow the Perricone Prescription or another healthy way of eating, you owe it to yourself to treat your body right. It will thank you with many years of feeling good, in addition to improving your overall health and well-being.
Nutrition During Pregnancy
As soon as you start thinking about having a baby, you should start thinking about what you eat. Begin loading up on the foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals, learn the five food groups and balance your meals. And once you do become pregnant, make good nutrition a priority. Talk to your doctor about the foods that will provide the nutrients important to your baby's growth, as well as to your own well-being.
While nutritional needs and your own tolerance for eating will change during the different trimesters of your pregnancy, there are some general guidelines that will be important to follow throughout the nine months. For starters, eat balanced meals, do not skip meals, eliminate caffeine and drink lots of water, six to eight glasses a day.
Calcium is one of the most important minerals you will need during pregnancy. The current recommended amount of calcium intake during pregnancy is 1,200 mg, an increase of 400 mg a day over your usual needs. An increase in dairy products such as skim milk, cheese, yogurt, pudding and ice milk, is an easy way to consume lots of calcium. There are also many good non-dairy sources of calcium, including salmon, kale, broccoli, beans and calcium-fortified orange juice.
Folic acid is essential for a healthy baby and helps in the development of the fetal brain and spine. It is especially important during early pregnancy when many women don't even know that they are expecting.
Women should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day throughout their pregnancy and may need to take a multi-vitamin or prenatal vitamin to meet this requirement. Some excellent sources of folic acid include dried beans, tofu, peanuts and peanut butter, as well as fortified cereals. Many breads are now also fortified with folic acid. Folic acid can also be found in many dark green vegetables, corn, cantaloupe, squash and beets.
Vitamin B12, found in animal products, is essential for proper nerve and brain functioning for both mother and baby. This is of special concern for women who are vegetarians. Vitamin B12 can be found in fortified soy milk and/or soy meat replacements, as well as vitamin supplements.
Protein intake should be increased by 10 grams a day and can easily be found in animal products including meats, milk and eggs. Some plant foods, such as legumes, seeds and cereal grains, can also provide high quality protein. It is more beneficial if you combine one food from two of these categories in the form of such dishes as hummus, split pea soup, bean tacos or even a peanut butter sandwich.
Infant Nutrition
Practicing proper infant nutrition will have life-long effects for your baby, as well as yourself. The very first step towards proper nutrition for your infant is to decide whether to breastfeed or bottle feed. It is important to consider that mother’s milk is the best milk for your baby.
There are a few points to remember when considering breast feeding. First, always remember that nature designed breast milk especially for human babies; therefore, it contains just the right amount of nutrients. These nutrients are contained in a form that is gentle to your baby’s systems.
If you decide to bottle feed, there are many iron-fortified formulas available that can provide adequate nutrition. Infant formulas contain protein, calories, fat, vitamins, and minerals for optimal growth and nutrition. If your infant receives enough iron-fortified formula, they may not require vitamin supplements.
When your infant is about six months old, solid foods may be introduced. Be mindful not to start solid foods unless your infant has shown signs of readiness. Signs of readiness include demonstrating good head control and if your infant loses their natural tongue reflex. You may begin with rice cereal and mix it with formula or breast milk.
Once they are used to this mixture once or twice a day for some period of time, then oatmeal may be tried, followed lastly by fruits and vegetables to add optimal infant nutrition.
After your infant has started solids, your may also add water or juice to your infant’s diet. Water is preferred by physicians, as juice contains sugar and calories that infants do not need. The water assists in digestion of the solids.
By creating good habits with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and eventually solids, your infant can receive proper nutrition during their formative first year. These habits of proper infant nutrition will create lifelong nutritional habits.
Kids Nutritional Needs
When it comes to feeding your child, it may seem like there are a dizzying number of rules to follow. Your child needs nutrients to grow strong and healthy, but you also have to limit treats and serving sizes so that your child doesn't develop weight and health problems down the line.
Obesity is becoming a common problem in the United States. Almost two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and more than half of them get too little physical activity.
U.S. nutrition officials are trying to help out. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created new dietary guidelines to provide more practical advice on how to give your child a healthy, balanced diet. The new guidelines suggest that kids eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains than in the past and that they get 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day.
The recommendations are tailored for kids based on age, gender, and exercise habits. You can find out what guidelines are appropriate for your child by logging on to the USDA's website. (See the Additional Resources tab).
With the new guidelines, the Food Guide Pyramid also got a new look and a new name: MyPyramid.
Inside the pyramid, six stripes represent the five food groups as well as the oils and fats that your child should consume each day. Stairs on the pyramid represent the importance of exercise and the simple steps you can take each day to improve your child's health.
On the pyramid, each color represents a different food group.
• Orange: grains
• Green: vegetables
• Red: fruits
• Blue: dairy and calcium-rich foods
• Purple: proteins (meats, beans, and fish)
• Yellow: fats and oils
Keep in mind that the serving sizes are guidelines and that, on some days, your child may eat more or less of a certain food group. That's OK. Different foods have different mixes of nutrients, so it's important to offer your child a variety of foods on a regular basis. Moderation is a key part of a healthy diet.
Also, remember that the nutrition content of a food can vary depending on how you prepare it. Apples, for example, are packed with nutrients and can make for a great after-school snack. Apple pie has all those nutrients. But it has lots of fats and sugars, too, so you may want to limit how much you serve.
Diabetes Nutrition
Finding the right nutrition approach for those living with diabetes can be incredibly challenging, especially with the knowledge that people who are diabetic will often have different reactions to particular foods then other diabetics.
For the uninitiated, when someone is diabetic, they are unable to produce or correctly use insulin throughout their body, which is the hormone that is responsible for changing sugar, starches and other food into energy.
This is why it is literally a matter of life and death that a diabetic diet is properly followed.
One of the main goals for a diabetic diet is to lower your weight and maintain it. In addition, the diet is designed to help maintain regular glucose levels in your body. Since diabetes prevents your body from processing glucose the way it should, a diabetic diet has to, to some extent, perform that maintenance. Also, the hope is that a diabetic diet will also help you to keep your blood pressure under control.
The benefits and assistance to your body from the diabetic diet will depend on what type of diabetes you are trying to treat. Each type has its own challenges and level of restriction on the diet.
The important thing to remember, though, is that studies show the effectiveness of a diabetic diet is dependent, not so much on the diet itself, but on how well the patient follows the diet. Overall, there is no official diabetic diet to follow and it really depends on the individual diabetic. However, there is a fairly well-defined list of food items that you should avoid. Anything that contains a lot of cheese, butter, oil or mayonnaises should be avoided on diabetic diets. If you must taste these foods during your meal, you should order them to arrive as a side item.
Other foods that can stray from diabetic diets include those that are prepared with sweet and sour sauce, as well as teriyaki and barbeque. They contain high amounts of sugar and carbohydrates that should be avoided while on a diabetic diet.
Some general guidelines on how a diabetic can stay healthy for many years to come:
• Count the number of calories from fat as being 30% less than the total number of calories eaten throughout one day. •
Include foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless poultry, fresh fruit, and vegetables.
• When possible, stay away from red meats, eggs, as well as whole-milk dairy products.
• Make sure that the dairy in your life comes from low-fat or fat-free selections. 10-20% of your daily calories on a diabetic diet should come from proteins in foods, such as lean meat, fish, and low-fat dairy products.
The rest of a diabetic diet should consist of carbohydrates coming from whole grains, beans, as well as fresh vegetables and fruit.
Liquid Nutritional Supplements
Do We Need Nutrition in a Can? Are Liquid Supplements for YOU?
Until recently such products as Ensure (tm) and Boost (tm) were primarily used to meet the special needs of patients in hospitals and nursing homes. Lately we have seen companies marketing these drinks to people of all ages and states of health.
Liquid supplements are supposedly the answer for busy moms with a tight schedule, business people dashing out without time for a sit-down breakfast, and older adults wanting to guarantee that they will be able to enjoy their grandchildren. What are the benefits liquid supplements reportedly offer?
In general, these supplements are composed of water, sugar, milk and soy proteins, oils, vitamins, and minerals. A typical 8-ounce can has 250 calories, and the Aplus@ version may have as many as 355 calories. Most are lactose free, some have added fiber, and some are specifically designed for children or adults with certain health problems.
Companies are also selling supplements in the form of pudding or bars, with varying nutrient content.
What nutritional need are companies trying to help consumers answer? Below are some of the reasons companies give for buying their products.
Advertisers may use fear tactics to make you worry that you are not getting proper nutrition through ordinary foods. Although some people are consuming less than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for some nutrients, this doesn't mean they will develop a deficiency disease. If you truly feel you are not getting enough nutrients from your food, consult a registered dietitian or a KSU Extension Specialist in nutrition. They can help you evaluate your need for supplements.
“Too busy to eat right” - Liquid supplements may be a quick way to get vitamins, minerals and protein, but there is more needed for good health! Scientists continue to discover new compounds in foods that provide health-protective benefits. While the canned supplements may lack fiber and other healthy components, they may be high in sugars and calories. Although this was ideal for the original intent of the products, most healthy consumers don=t want or need all the extra calories that the supplement provides.
“Difficulty preparing meals or poor appetite” - Liquid supplements may provide an answer for occasional use, but continued use may lead to boredom and even less interest in eating. For a consumer with a poor appetite or impaired ability to fix meals, the solution might be home-delivered meals or eating at a group meal site. These meals will offer more variety and may be available at little or no cost to the consumer.
“Nutrition after surgery, during illness or chronic disease” - Liquid nutritional supplements can be beneficial for people with special nutritional needs brought on by serious illnesses. For example, those with AIDS or cancer have increased nutritional needs, and liquid nutritional supplements are appropriate and valuable in these situations.
In summary, while there is a need for liquid nutritional supplements in certain medical conditions, these products are unnecessary for the average, healthy person. The cost for one 8-ounce can of standard formula, and more for specialized formulas must be part of the decision if a person is considering use of a liquid nutritional supplement.
USDA Key Recommendations for the General Population
ADEQUATE NUTRIENTS WITHIN CALORIE NEEDS
• Consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups while choosing foods that limit the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol.
• Meet recommended intakes within energy needs by adopting a balanced eating pattern, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide or the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan.
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
• To maintain body weight in a healthy range, balance calories from foods and beverages with calories expended.
• To prevent gradual weight gain over time, make small decreases in food and beverage calories and increase physical activity.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
• Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.
• To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above usual activity, at work or home on most days of the week.
• For most people, greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or longer duration.
• To help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body weight gain in adulthood: Engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on most days of the week while not exceeding caloric intake requirements.
• To sustain weight loss in adulthood: Participate in at least 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while not exceeding caloric intake requirements. Some people may need to consult with a healthcare provider before participating in this level of activity.
• Achieve physical fitness by including cardiovascular conditioning, stretching exercises for flexibility, and resistance exercises or calisthenics for muscle strength and endurance.
FOOD SAFETY
• To avoid microbial foodborne illness:
• Clean hands, food contact surfaces, and fruits and vegetables. Meat and poultry should not be washed or rinsed.
• Separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, preparing, or storing foods. • Cook foods to a safe temperature to kill microorganisms.
• Chill (refrigerate) perishable food promptly and defrost foods properly.
• Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or any products made from unpasteurized milk, raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, unpasteurized juices, and raw sprouts.
Recently, the nutritional food guide pyramid was revised.
The revision, completed by the United States Department of Agriculture included new dietary guidelines to achieve a healthy, balanced diet The pyramid is geared especially towards proper nutrition for children. It focuses on larger amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. In addition, the pyramid stresses the importance of exercise on a regular basis to improve childrens’ health.
On the pyramid there are six color coded categories for each food group:
• Orange: Grains
• Green: Vegetables
• Red: Fruits
• Blue: Dairy and calcium-rich foods
• Purple: Proteins (meats, beans, and fish)
• Yellow: Fats and oils Here is a bit of information from each food group:
Grains: The grains group, which includes foods like bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. These foods are high in complex carbohydrates, which are the body's fuel. Grains also provide other important nutrients such as vitamin B-complex (folate), which helps your body use the protein needed to build muscle.
Vegetables: Vegetables provide many of the vitamins and minerals needed for good health, and they provide fiber to aid digestion.
Fruits: Fruits are especially good sources of important vitamins like A and C. This food group also adds minerals such as potassium and fiber, which help digestion. It is best to eat fruits raw.
Dairy: The dairy group includes milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and is an excellent source of vitamins A and D. Diary products help strengthen bones and teeth as well as strengthening muscle and nerve functions.
Proteins: Proteins include meats, beans, and fish. These all contain vitamin B and iron to help bones grow strong and support muscles.
Fats, oils, and sweets: This group is essential to maintain body function and provide nutrition, but should be used sparingly
It is important to keep in mind that the serving sizes are a guideline and can differ day to day. In addition, always keep in mind that moderation is key to a healthy diet and the nutritional values of food can vary depending on how the food is prepared.
Nutritional Food Choices
One of the biggest reasons that diets and attempts at healthy eating fail is boredom. Many folks just do not know how to keep a healthy diet interesting day after day, and it can be quite a challenge. Given the huge variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meats and other healthy foods at the local grocery store, however, it is definitely possible to create exciting, nutritious meals that will keep that boredom at bay. However, it is important to check the nutritional qualities of the fruits and vegetables you buy, and not simply assume that all fruits and vegetables are equally healthy. As far as what to eat, buying anything at the grocery from the following list is a straight path to better health.
These foods include:
• Fruits like bananas, berries and apples
• Whole grains including bread and pasta
• Low-fat dairy including milk and yogurt
• Chicken, turkey and fish
• Vegetables like spinach, squash and tomatoes
• Natural peanut butter
• Beans and legumes
• Almonds and other nuts
Foods to avoid Refined foods are big industry, and draw a gigantic profit. When industries are accustomed to bringing in big profits, they do what any industry would do: protect those profits at all costs. In addition, these profits bring power, and information can be put forth, covered over, or otherwise manipulated to protect that power. Most people know which foods they should stay away from. The obvious ones include desserts, high-fat meals, candy, fast food and fried food. In fact, most people will feel a big difference simply by staying away from these kinds of foods.
The not-so-obvious ones include:
• Pasta • Fat-free foods
• Most frozen meals
• Processed meats like fake cold cuts
• Soda and juices
• Creamy meals
Your biggest weapon in the battle to eat right is common sense. Use it!
Nutritional Information
Nutritional information seems to be everywhere these days. The secret to feeding your family (and yourself) a healthful diet of healthy food is to read the labels. The United States Food & Drug Administration has laid out strict guidelines for nutritional labeling of all food products. The nutrition label will tell you all you need to know to choose real health foods. But with new FDA guidelines mandating more detailed info on the labels of every product you buy, it could become a case of overload very quickly.
To get you started, here are a few facts (and myths) about some of the more common, “healthy” snack foods you see nearly every day: Yogurt: This can be either very good or very bad for you, depending on several factors.
Real yogurt has two ingredients: milk (whole, skim or low fat) and live yogurt cultures. That's healthy food - calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, protein. However, much of the yogurt at the grocery store is loaded with various kinds of hidden sugars. Flavors like key lime pie, kiwi-raspberry, strawberry-banana, etc., usually means that heavy doses of sugar were added to generate that particular flavor. Many times, the actual "fruit" is of poor quality fruit and was too damaged or over-ripe to sell for raw produce. The solution? Buy plain, fat-free, sugarless yogurt, and add your own nuts, berries or fresh fruits to it. In this manner you have complete control over how healthy you wish your yogurt to be.
Granola bars: The first granola bars were identical to normal granola except for shape. Instead of a loose, breakfast cereal consistency, granola bars were pressed into a bar shape and baked into that shape. These granola bars often contain dried fruit, as normal granola. Granola bars have now evolved into expensive candy bars containing chocolate chips and gooey caramel. Whole wheat flour is bleached and denuded of its flavorful kernels.
Finally, here are some things to keep in mind when reading nutrition labels for health foods: * In the ingredient's portion of the nutrition label, ingredients are listed in order by amount. The ingredient that's listed first is the main ingredient, followed by the next largest amount, etc.
* The nutrition facts label must list each of the required nutrients even if the food provides 0% of the recommended daily value. * The nutrition facts label must list what portion of the food's calories is derived from fat, from sugar, from protein and from carbohydrates. It will also break down the fat into saturated and unsaturated fat.
Fast Food Nutrition Facts
Fast food is a lot of things. It is fast, convenient, and fun. But can it be healthy? Are too many 'Happy Meals' the reason that more kids today are overweight?
The rise in families substituting a trip to McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. for a family meal at home is likely one of the causes for the increase in overweight kids, but it is not the only cause. Other factors are also to blame, including an increased time watching TV and playing video games, decreased time in physical activity and unhealthy food choices.
An unhealthy food choices don't end at home, where kids may eat too many high fat and high calorie foods and snacks and sugary drinks. The choices you make when eating fast food can also determine how healthy or 'unhealthy' it is. How can you make fast food healthy? One of the easiest ways is to just watch your portion sizes and understand how many calories and how much fat you add to a meal when you 'super-size' your order. It might seem like a good 'value' to go with the special or large meal sizes, but think about what those extra calories will cost you later as your child tries to burn them off to lose weight.
Healthy Choices In addition to choosing smaller portion sizes, checking the menu at your favorite fast food restaurant will likely help you find other low calorie low fat alternatives to traditional fast foods that really are healthy. These might include a salad, baked potato, or grilled chicken salad. With other types of fast food, like pizza, choose a thin crust cheese pizza and avoid adding a lot of cheese or extra meat toppings. It can also help your child eat more healthy if you avoid 'fast food' at more traditional restaurants that you visit. It seems like almost every restaurant, whether it is Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc. has a kids' menu with high fat and high calorie foods, like chicken nuggets, french fries, etc. Instead of always relying on the kid's menu, consider getting a 1/2 order or child plate of a more traditional and healthier item at the restaurant.
Anti-aging Nutrition
As the first baby boomers enter their 60’s, research into ways to slow down the aging process has increased dramatically. The results of this research often creates more questions then it answers. Here’s a sampling of some of the various ways to try and hold back or slow down the aging process: If you think that cutting off all the fat from your diet is going to make you look better, think again. A move like that could age you faster instead. Your body needs essential fatty acids. EFAs help your body process the food to release the energy needed for your life processes. They are important in the transfer of oxygen in your body as well as the regulation of nutrients in and out of the cells among other things.
Plant nutrients also play a key role in anti aging. Fruit, vegetables, and plant extracts have an array of chemical constituents, called phytochemicals or phytonutrients, that are hugely beneficial to skin health and beauty.
Antioxidants are one class of phytonutrients, though there are many. Antioxidants work by supplying an extra oxygen molecule to those molecules that are missing one, called free radicals.
Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants neutralize the free radicals that would otherwise damage your skin cells, aging you more quickly. Consuming nuts, seeds and oils that are rich in vitamin E protects you from the aging effect of these free radicals by neutralizing the free radicals before they can cause damage.
A new diet on the anti-aging scene is the Perricone Prescription. It is not just a weight loss diet, but a way of eating that is supposed to soften wrinkles, firm the skin, reduce inflammation in the body, and increase energy. Dr. Perricone claims that in just three days, people will see the anti-aging effects of this diet. The staples of the diet are anti-inflammatory foods such as salmon and blueberries. Perricone says foods such as sugar, pasta, bread, bananas and other starches contribute to inflammation in the body and speed up the aging process. Whether you follow the Perricone Prescription or another healthy way of eating, you owe it to yourself to treat your body right. It will thank you with many years of feeling good, in addition to improving your overall health and well-being.
Nutrition During Pregnancy
As soon as you start thinking about having a baby, you should start thinking about what you eat. Begin loading up on the foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals, learn the five food groups and balance your meals. And once you do become pregnant, make good nutrition a priority. Talk to your doctor about the foods that will provide the nutrients important to your baby's growth, as well as to your own well-being.
While nutritional needs and your own tolerance for eating will change during the different trimesters of your pregnancy, there are some general guidelines that will be important to follow throughout the nine months. For starters, eat balanced meals, do not skip meals, eliminate caffeine and drink lots of water, six to eight glasses a day.
Calcium is one of the most important minerals you will need during pregnancy. The current recommended amount of calcium intake during pregnancy is 1,200 mg, an increase of 400 mg a day over your usual needs. An increase in dairy products such as skim milk, cheese, yogurt, pudding and ice milk, is an easy way to consume lots of calcium. There are also many good non-dairy sources of calcium, including salmon, kale, broccoli, beans and calcium-fortified orange juice.
Folic acid is essential for a healthy baby and helps in the development of the fetal brain and spine. It is especially important during early pregnancy when many women don't even know that they are expecting.
Women should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day throughout their pregnancy and may need to take a multi-vitamin or prenatal vitamin to meet this requirement. Some excellent sources of folic acid include dried beans, tofu, peanuts and peanut butter, as well as fortified cereals. Many breads are now also fortified with folic acid. Folic acid can also be found in many dark green vegetables, corn, cantaloupe, squash and beets.
Vitamin B12, found in animal products, is essential for proper nerve and brain functioning for both mother and baby. This is of special concern for women who are vegetarians. Vitamin B12 can be found in fortified soy milk and/or soy meat replacements, as well as vitamin supplements.
Protein intake should be increased by 10 grams a day and can easily be found in animal products including meats, milk and eggs. Some plant foods, such as legumes, seeds and cereal grains, can also provide high quality protein. It is more beneficial if you combine one food from two of these categories in the form of such dishes as hummus, split pea soup, bean tacos or even a peanut butter sandwich.
Infant Nutrition
Practicing proper infant nutrition will have life-long effects for your baby, as well as yourself. The very first step towards proper nutrition for your infant is to decide whether to breastfeed or bottle feed. It is important to consider that mother’s milk is the best milk for your baby.
There are a few points to remember when considering breast feeding. First, always remember that nature designed breast milk especially for human babies; therefore, it contains just the right amount of nutrients. These nutrients are contained in a form that is gentle to your baby’s systems.
If you decide to bottle feed, there are many iron-fortified formulas available that can provide adequate nutrition. Infant formulas contain protein, calories, fat, vitamins, and minerals for optimal growth and nutrition. If your infant receives enough iron-fortified formula, they may not require vitamin supplements.
When your infant is about six months old, solid foods may be introduced. Be mindful not to start solid foods unless your infant has shown signs of readiness. Signs of readiness include demonstrating good head control and if your infant loses their natural tongue reflex. You may begin with rice cereal and mix it with formula or breast milk.
Once they are used to this mixture once or twice a day for some period of time, then oatmeal may be tried, followed lastly by fruits and vegetables to add optimal infant nutrition.
After your infant has started solids, your may also add water or juice to your infant’s diet. Water is preferred by physicians, as juice contains sugar and calories that infants do not need. The water assists in digestion of the solids.
By creating good habits with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and eventually solids, your infant can receive proper nutrition during their formative first year. These habits of proper infant nutrition will create lifelong nutritional habits.
Kids Nutritional Needs
When it comes to feeding your child, it may seem like there are a dizzying number of rules to follow. Your child needs nutrients to grow strong and healthy, but you also have to limit treats and serving sizes so that your child doesn't develop weight and health problems down the line.
Obesity is becoming a common problem in the United States. Almost two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and more than half of them get too little physical activity.
U.S. nutrition officials are trying to help out. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created new dietary guidelines to provide more practical advice on how to give your child a healthy, balanced diet. The new guidelines suggest that kids eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains than in the past and that they get 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day.
The recommendations are tailored for kids based on age, gender, and exercise habits. You can find out what guidelines are appropriate for your child by logging on to the USDA's website. (See the Additional Resources tab).
With the new guidelines, the Food Guide Pyramid also got a new look and a new name: MyPyramid.
Inside the pyramid, six stripes represent the five food groups as well as the oils and fats that your child should consume each day. Stairs on the pyramid represent the importance of exercise and the simple steps you can take each day to improve your child's health.
On the pyramid, each color represents a different food group.
• Orange: grains
• Green: vegetables
• Red: fruits
• Blue: dairy and calcium-rich foods
• Purple: proteins (meats, beans, and fish)
• Yellow: fats and oils
Keep in mind that the serving sizes are guidelines and that, on some days, your child may eat more or less of a certain food group. That's OK. Different foods have different mixes of nutrients, so it's important to offer your child a variety of foods on a regular basis. Moderation is a key part of a healthy diet.
Also, remember that the nutrition content of a food can vary depending on how you prepare it. Apples, for example, are packed with nutrients and can make for a great after-school snack. Apple pie has all those nutrients. But it has lots of fats and sugars, too, so you may want to limit how much you serve.
Diabetes Nutrition
Finding the right nutrition approach for those living with diabetes can be incredibly challenging, especially with the knowledge that people who are diabetic will often have different reactions to particular foods then other diabetics.
For the uninitiated, when someone is diabetic, they are unable to produce or correctly use insulin throughout their body, which is the hormone that is responsible for changing sugar, starches and other food into energy.
This is why it is literally a matter of life and death that a diabetic diet is properly followed.
One of the main goals for a diabetic diet is to lower your weight and maintain it. In addition, the diet is designed to help maintain regular glucose levels in your body. Since diabetes prevents your body from processing glucose the way it should, a diabetic diet has to, to some extent, perform that maintenance. Also, the hope is that a diabetic diet will also help you to keep your blood pressure under control.
The benefits and assistance to your body from the diabetic diet will depend on what type of diabetes you are trying to treat. Each type has its own challenges and level of restriction on the diet.
The important thing to remember, though, is that studies show the effectiveness of a diabetic diet is dependent, not so much on the diet itself, but on how well the patient follows the diet. Overall, there is no official diabetic diet to follow and it really depends on the individual diabetic. However, there is a fairly well-defined list of food items that you should avoid. Anything that contains a lot of cheese, butter, oil or mayonnaises should be avoided on diabetic diets. If you must taste these foods during your meal, you should order them to arrive as a side item.
Other foods that can stray from diabetic diets include those that are prepared with sweet and sour sauce, as well as teriyaki and barbeque. They contain high amounts of sugar and carbohydrates that should be avoided while on a diabetic diet.
Some general guidelines on how a diabetic can stay healthy for many years to come:
• Count the number of calories from fat as being 30% less than the total number of calories eaten throughout one day. •
Include foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless poultry, fresh fruit, and vegetables.
• When possible, stay away from red meats, eggs, as well as whole-milk dairy products.
• Make sure that the dairy in your life comes from low-fat or fat-free selections. 10-20% of your daily calories on a diabetic diet should come from proteins in foods, such as lean meat, fish, and low-fat dairy products.
The rest of a diabetic diet should consist of carbohydrates coming from whole grains, beans, as well as fresh vegetables and fruit.
Liquid Nutritional Supplements
Do We Need Nutrition in a Can? Are Liquid Supplements for YOU?
Until recently such products as Ensure (tm) and Boost (tm) were primarily used to meet the special needs of patients in hospitals and nursing homes. Lately we have seen companies marketing these drinks to people of all ages and states of health.
Liquid supplements are supposedly the answer for busy moms with a tight schedule, business people dashing out without time for a sit-down breakfast, and older adults wanting to guarantee that they will be able to enjoy their grandchildren. What are the benefits liquid supplements reportedly offer?
In general, these supplements are composed of water, sugar, milk and soy proteins, oils, vitamins, and minerals. A typical 8-ounce can has 250 calories, and the Aplus@ version may have as many as 355 calories. Most are lactose free, some have added fiber, and some are specifically designed for children or adults with certain health problems.
Companies are also selling supplements in the form of pudding or bars, with varying nutrient content.
What nutritional need are companies trying to help consumers answer? Below are some of the reasons companies give for buying their products.
Advertisers may use fear tactics to make you worry that you are not getting proper nutrition through ordinary foods. Although some people are consuming less than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for some nutrients, this doesn't mean they will develop a deficiency disease. If you truly feel you are not getting enough nutrients from your food, consult a registered dietitian or a KSU Extension Specialist in nutrition. They can help you evaluate your need for supplements.
“Too busy to eat right” - Liquid supplements may be a quick way to get vitamins, minerals and protein, but there is more needed for good health! Scientists continue to discover new compounds in foods that provide health-protective benefits. While the canned supplements may lack fiber and other healthy components, they may be high in sugars and calories. Although this was ideal for the original intent of the products, most healthy consumers don=t want or need all the extra calories that the supplement provides.
“Difficulty preparing meals or poor appetite” - Liquid supplements may provide an answer for occasional use, but continued use may lead to boredom and even less interest in eating. For a consumer with a poor appetite or impaired ability to fix meals, the solution might be home-delivered meals or eating at a group meal site. These meals will offer more variety and may be available at little or no cost to the consumer.
“Nutrition after surgery, during illness or chronic disease” - Liquid nutritional supplements can be beneficial for people with special nutritional needs brought on by serious illnesses. For example, those with AIDS or cancer have increased nutritional needs, and liquid nutritional supplements are appropriate and valuable in these situations.
In summary, while there is a need for liquid nutritional supplements in certain medical conditions, these products are unnecessary for the average, healthy person. The cost for one 8-ounce can of standard formula, and more for specialized formulas must be part of the decision if a person is considering use of a liquid nutritional supplement.