Healthy Eating

Healthy eating requires some planning and purpose and an effort to include a variety of foods in your meals. If you look closely at how you eat, you might find you aren''t getting enough nutrients because you don't get the recommended number of servings from each food group.So, not only is it important to pay attention to what you eat but also to what food groups you may not eat enough of. To accomplish this, keep a food diary of everything you eat and drink for 1 week. Pay attention to serving sizes, and check to see if you are eating a variety of foods from each of the food groups. You don't need to meet the minimum number every day, but try to get the recommended intake on average over a week. If you are not getting the recommended amount of servings from each food group, you may be missing important nutrients. For example, if you rarely eat fruits or vegetables, you may not get enough vitamin C, beta-carotene, or potassium. Making a few small changes can help ensure that you are eating a variety of healthy foods.

Everyone can benefit from eating healthy foods, but not everyone has the same nutritional needs. Pregnant women, growing children, and older adults will have different needs for certain nutrients. People who have high blood pressure need to watch how much salt they eat. Those who have high cholesterol may be on a cholesterol-lowering diet that restricts saturated and trans fats and cholesterol. And people who have diabetes will need to spread the carbohydrate that they eat throughout the day. If you are generally healthy and don’t have health issues that require a special diet, it's still wise to watch how much salt, fat, and added sugar you eat, in order to prevent diseases such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Limit the amount of salt you get by eating as many fresh foods as possible. Remember, 400 mg of sodium is equal to 1000 mg of salt. Processed foods, fast food, and restaurant foods are the major sources of dietary sodium. Prepared foods, such as soups, snack foods, and canned foods, are also extremely high in salt. Also watch the amount of fat you eat. Replace saturated and trans fats with monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and canola oil. Include healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, walnuts, flaxseed, and canola oil. Low-carbohydrate diets may help some people lose weight initially, but they may not be healthy over a long period of time. Low- carbohydrate diets are high in total fat and saturated fat and are low in fiber. They also restrict grains, fruits, and vegetables, which protect against disease and provide important nutrients. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans list fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk products as food groups to choose from, for the greatest benefit.