Nutrition Understanding the food pyramid and reading food labels

Grains: 6-11Vegetables: 3-5 Fruits: 2-4 Milk (Diary): 2-3 Meat &Beans: 2-3 Oils, Fats, and Sweets: 0-1

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans Aim for Fitness Aim for a healthy weight. Be physically active each day for at least thirty minutes. Build a Healthy Base Let MyPyramid guide your food choices Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily. Keep food safe to eat. Choose Sensibly Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat. Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars. Choose and prepare foods with less salt. If you drink alcoholic beverages limit your intake to two drinks a day.

Reading a food label Title- means it is an approved label by the Food and Drug Administration Serving Size- the amount of food you should eat to meet the numbers on the label – If your size is double then double the numbers Calories- the amount of calories the food has per serving size – Depends on size and activity level Total fat- the amount of fat in the food, aim low to stay healthy, 65g a day Saturated fat- fat that causes high cholesterol, part of total fat, 20g a day Cholesterol- a second cousin to fat, try to eat less than 300mg a day Sodium- or salt it causes high blood pressure eat less than 3000mg a day Total Carbohydrate- they give the body energy, intake around 300g or more a day Dietary Fiber- the more you get the better, at least 25g a day Protein- build, maintains, and replaces tissues in the body, around 50g a day – Most Americans get then enough protein Vitamins & Minerals- you want to reach 100% with them every day