A Quick Guide to Proper Nutrition

What is proper nutrition?  The typical nutrition guide has been the food pyramid  It tells us how much of each type of food to eat  Has types of food in a hierarchy  Is this a good diagram?

The New Food Pyramid  The U.S. government thought that the old pyramid was not a good model of proper nutrition  In 2000, they introduced MyPyramid

Understanding MyPyramid  MyPyramid has bands that run from top to bottom showing that all food groups are equally important  The width of each band shows how much you should eat from each food group

Understanding MyPyramid  The most drastic change to the symbol was the addition of a person walking up stairs  This emphasizes the importance of physical activity in nutrition and overall health

Choosing your pyramid  Unlike the last food pyramid, that was based on a general 2,000 calorie diet, MyPyramid is customizable  12 different pyramids have been made to fit people depending on their age, height, and amount of physical activity  To find out more about your pyramid go to: mypyramid.gov

Cracking the code  The bands on MyPyramid are color coded.  Each group is assigned a color

Cracking the code  The ORANGE band represents GRAINS  The GREEN band represents VEGETABLES

Cracking the code  The RED band represents FRUITS  The slim YELLOW band represents OILS

Cracking the code  The BLUE band represents MILK  The PURPLE band represents MEAT AND BEANS

Grain Group  The grain group still takes up the biggest part of the pyramid  What’s in the grain group? Bread Cereal Crackers Rice Pasta  Try and make the grains you eat whole grains

Vegetable Group  The vegetable group also takes up a significant portion of the pyramid  What should you eat in the vegetable group? Dark green veggies (broccoli, spinach) Orange veggies (carrots, squash) Dry beans and peas (black beans, pinto beans, etc.)

Fruit Group  Fruits take up a smaller portion of the pyramid but are still very important  You should: Eat a variety of fruits Choose fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruits Go easy on fruit juices, as they are often full of added sugars

Oils Group  Oils is the smallest group in the pyramid  Where should you get your oils? Good sources: fish, nuts, vegetable oils Not so good sources: solids like butter, shortening, or lard  Look for things low in saturated fats and trans-fats

Milk Group  The milk group is another larger group  What’s in the milk group? Milk Cheese Yogurt  Make sure to choose low fat or fat free milk products  If you are lactose intolerant, find other sources of calcium

Meat and Bean Group  You should: Choose low-fat or lean meats and poultry Bake, broil, or grill your meats. Frying adds unnecessary extra fat and oil Vary your choices – with more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds  If you do not eat meat, find other sources of protein such as tofu

Why do we need to eat different foods?  Would it be fun to eat pizza, cookies, and soft drinks for every meal?  We need to eat different foods because they have different nutrients in them (i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, calcium, iron, vitamins)  What foods have different nutrients?

Food Group’s Nutrients  Grains Group A good source of carbohydrates Carbohydrates are a source of energy for the body  Vegetable Group A good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals A deficiency in vitamin A, found in carrots and spinach, can lead to blindness

Food Group’s Nutrients  Fruit Group A good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals Vitamin C, abundant in citrus fruits, is not made in the body and must be consumed  Oils Group Source of necessary dietary fats Fat is stored energy for the body. However, excess amounts of fat can be detrimental to health.

Food Group’s Nutrients  Milk Group A good source of calcium Calcium is necessary for proper bone growth. It also is involved in muscle contraction and nervous signal transmission  Meat and Beans Group A good source of protein Proteins are necessary for the formation of skeletal muscle, hormones, antibodies, and enzymes

Finding nutrients  You can see that it is important to eat foods from all groups as they provide different nutrients  However, how do we necessarily know what nutrients or how much of each nutrient is in a food?  A good way to find out is to read the Nutrition Facts labels

How to read Nutrition Facts Labels  Nutrition Facts labels provide a lot of information  1. Serving Size – the amount you should eat of the food

How to read Nutrition Facts Labels  2. Calories – this is how many calories you are consuming in each serving. This helps you see if you are meeting or exceeding your caloric goals based on MyPyramid

How to read Nutrition Facts Labels  3. Core Nutrients – these are the many nutrients that your body needs. It provides information about the amount of each nutrient and the different types (i.e. saturated fat, dietary fiber, sugars)

How to read Nutrition Facts Labels  4. Micronutrients – these are all important but are just required in small amounts. These include vitamins and minerals

How to read Nutrition Facts Labels  5. Percent Daily Values – this shows that the percentages shown are based on a general 2,000 calorie diet. These percentages are to help you see if you are meeting your daily requirements of each nutrient

Why exercise?  There are plenty of reasons that exercise helps your health physically and mentally, both now and in the future.  See how many different reasons you can think of to show why exercise is important.

A list of reasons  Improves self-esteem and feelings of well-being  Increases fitness level  Helps build and maintain bones, muscles, and joints  Builds endurance and muscle strength  Enhances flexibility and posture  Helps manage weight  Lowers risk of heart disease, colon cancer, osteoperosis and type 2 diabetes  Helps control blood pressure  Relieves stress  Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety  Promotes better sleep

What types of exercises should we do?  There are three main categories of exercise: Aerobic Resistance, strength building, and weight bearing Balance and stretching  It is important to do some activities from all three of the categories

Aerobic exercises  Speeds heart rate and breathing and improves heart and lung fitness.  Can be maintained continuously  Usually has a type of rhythm to it  Some aerobic activities: Brisk walking Jogging Swimming  What other aerobic activities can you think of?

Resistance, Strength Building, and Weight Bearing Exercises  Helps build and maintain bones and muscles by working them against gravity or some other force  Some examples: Carrying a child Lifting weights Calisthenics, or body exercises without equipment  Can you think of other examples?

Balance and Stretching Exercises  Enhances physical stability and flexibility, which reduces risk of injuries  Some balance and stretching exercises: Gentle stretching Dancing Yoga Martial arts T’ai chi  Can you think of other balance and stretching activities?

How much physical activity do we need?  How often do you think we should exercise? (e.g. every day, on the weekend, once a month…)  Different Institutions offer different recommendations about exercise  The USDA suggests 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least 5 days a week, but daily is best

 The Institute of Medicine recommends an hour daily of vigorous activity to promote cardiovascular health  If you don’t have an hour a day, don’t be discouraged. Even just 20 minutes of daily exercise still has significant health benefits.  Exercising harder and longer increases benefits How much physical activity do we need?

Different levels of exercise  Light Gardening Walking slowly Dusting or vacuuming  Moderate Mowing lawn Bicycling (5-9mph) Dancing  Heavy Swimming laps Bicycling (>10mph) Jogging or running Playing basketball Playing soccer

Getting enough exercise  Did you consider things like chores and dancing exercise?  You do not necessarily have to go running for an hour straight. Break it up! Run for 20 minutes three times.  The key is to increase physical activity by doing things you like. Maybe it could be playing sports, riding a bike, or swimming.