Weight Debate

The United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans describes a healthy eating plan as one that:

• Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
• Includes lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, and nuts.
• Is low in cholesterol, saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars, and salt (sodium).
• Stays within your calorie needs.

Also, how you choose to prepare the foods you eat, or how you order your food when you are eating out can quickly turn a less healthy food into a healthier option.

Choose baked, broiled, steamed, grilled, and microwaved foods. This saves you from eating extra fat and calories.

The block is the black-and-white “Nutrition Facts” label on food packages. You can learn a lot from this label about the foods you buy. Read this label to find all the nutritional information you need for making smart food choices. This label tells you what the serving size is (one package may contain more than one serving), and the total number of calories and nutrients per package.

Calories
400 or more calories per serving for a single food is high. The food label is based on a 2,000 calorie diet — but your calorie needs might be different. Keep track of the calories you eat throughout the day.

Nutrients
Pick foods that are lower in certain fats, cholesterol and sodium.

% Daily Value (DV)
When comparing percent Daily Value, remember that 20% DV is high, 5% DV is low. Go for the ones that are high %DV in nutrients to get more of and low %DV in nutrients to get less of. Examples:

• Nutrients To Get More Of - Choose a higher %DV
  • Potassium
  • Fiber
  • Vitamins A and C
  • Iron
  • Calcium
• Nutrients To Get Less Of - Choose a lower amount
  • Trans fat
  • Saturated fat
  • Cholesterol
  • Sodium
  • Sugars

NOTE:
The label doesn’t show a %DV for trans fat or sugars. You can still choose the foods with lower grams of trans fat and sugar by comparing two foods.

Smart Food Choice Examples:

• Cereal - Choose cereal with the fewest grams of sugar and high in fiber.
• Canned Fruit or Frozen Fruit - Buy canned fruit or frozen fruit pops with the fewest grams of sugar. Makes a great sweet snack.
• Frozen Veggies - Compare frozen vegetables, including ones with and without sauce, and go for the one with the lowest fat content and the highest amount of vitamin A.
• Frozen Pizza - Try to find the one lowest in fat and sodium and highest in calcium and iron.
• Nuts and Dried Fruits - Nuts and dried fruits can make great snacks, as long as you follow the serving size. Too many servings can add up to a lot of calories. Make sure to check out the serving size with peanut butter, nuts and dried fruit.