Planning A Healthy Diet

Diet Planning Principles Adequate Balanced Energy controlled Nutrient dense Moderation Variety

Adequate Providing all the essential nutrients, fiber, and energy in amounts sufficient to maintain health.

Balanced Providing foods of a number of types in proportion to each other, such that foods rich in some nutrients do not crowd out of the diet foods that are rich in other nutrients Balance helps to ensure adequacy.

Energy Controlled Management of food energy intake to maintain a healthy weight

Nutrient Dense A measure of the nutrients a food provides relative to the energy it provides. The more nutrients and fewer calories, the higher the nutrient density. “Empty Calories” refers to foods which provide calories but lack any nutrients, such as candy or soda.

Moderation Providing enough but not too much of a substance

Variety Eating a wide selection of foods within and among the major food groups Helps achieve adequacy

Daily Food Guide Developed by the USDA A pictorial representation of the Daily Food Guide, The Food Guide Pyramid Assigns foods to the five major food groups Lists the number of servings recommended

Daily Food Guide {continued} Lists the most notable nutrients of each group Lists the serving sizes Lists the foods within each group categorized by nutrient density

Exchange Lists For Meal Planning Diet planning tools that organize foods by their proportions of carbohydrate, fat, and protein Foods on any single list can be used interchangeably Helps control energy intake by emphasizing portion sizes

Food Labels Ingredient list Serving size Nutrition facts The daily values

Ingredient List All ingredients must be listed in order of predominence by weight.

Serving Size Labels present nutrient information per serving, thus a serving size must be identified. Serving sizes reflect amounts that people commonly consume.

Nutrition Facts Total calories Fat calories Total fat grams Saturated fat grams Cholesterol milligrams Sodium milligrams Total carbohydrate including : starch, sugar, and fiber grams Protein grams Vitamins A and C Minerals, iron and calcim

The Daily Values Reference values developed by the FDA specifically for use on foods labels Reflect dietary recommendations for nutrients based on a 2000 calorie diet Provide a ballpark estimate of how individual foods contribute to the total diet

Eating And Oral Health Both sugars and starch begin breaking down to sugars in the mouth and can contribute to tooth decay. Bacteria in the mouth ferment the sugars which results in formation of an acid that can dissolve tooth enamel.