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Charleston, SC 29425
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September 2008
Dietary Guidelines - Looking for Color!
Every five years, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) revise Dietary Guidelines to encourage Americans to live a lifestyle which promotes health. Today, nearly one third of us are either overweight or obese. This leads to increased risk for the metabolic cluster of high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes. This leads to debilitating heart and kidney disease. Changing the way you live can prevent and treat many chronic diseases.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines encourage us to eat foods packed with nutrients and balanced with exercise to achieve a weight for optimal health. Currently, Americans consume a diet high is calories, fat, sugar, and sodium. Also, we tend to be pretty lazy when it comes to exercise. Consuming a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and skim or reduced fat milk in combination with exercise will go a long way to improve the health of both you and your family.
Eat more fruits and vegetables. These foods are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are high in water which means they are low in fat and calories. Select the dark, rich colorful fruits and vegetables because the darker the color, the more nutrient dense. Shoot for five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Remember, juice counts but is often higher in sugar and lower in fiber.
Pick "whole grain". Whole grains are an important source of fiber and many other nutrients. Purchase food products that say "whole wheat" or "whole grain" instead of wheat. White breads, rice or pasta have been refined and processed and lost most of their dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. You should eat at least three ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or pasta every day. One ounce is one slice of bread, one cup of cereal, or half cup of cooked rice or pasta.
Go "lean". Choose lean meats, poultry, and seafood; limit portions to four to six ounces a day (one to two decks of cards). Bake, broil, or grill meats to avoid the added fats of frying. Remove any chicken or turkey skin. Cook meat with fruit (i.e., apricots with chicken) and vegetables (i.e., snow peas, bell pepper, and onions). This will keep the meat moist, increase your sense of portion, add flavor and nutrition. Some excellent non-meat protein foods are dried beans and peas, tofu, nuts and peanut butter.
Drink milk. In the 1950-60's, teenagers consumed one soda or sugar sweetened beverage a day along with three cups of milk. Today, the balance has switched and kids are drinking three glasses of sugared beverages for one cup of milk! Through the years, the daily recommended intake (DRI) for calcium has increased 600 percent from 800 to 1300 mg. One glass of milk has about 300 mg, so you have to work hard to satisfy this need. Do something simple such as add yogurt to your foods. If you are lactose-intolerant, you may drink calcium fortified soy milk or any calcium fortified foods or beverages. This will go a long way to building strong bones and preventing osteoporosis down the road.
Put it together. A quick way to visibly check the nutritional value of your meals is to think of the color chart. If your plate is just one color, you may be missing out on essential minerals and vitamins. Fruits and vegetables certainly make a plate colorful! My mother, Joan Oexmann, was an artist and gave me the painting below not long after I became a nutritionist. I hope you enjoy the color she captured. She captured the same colors when it came to preparing meals for our family.
To find our more on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, please visit www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines. To find out more about the Lean Team,
visit our website at www.musc.edu/leanteam or give us a call at (843)579-4316.
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Mary Joan
Lean Team |
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