Finding Your Way to A Healthier You: Consumer Advice based on the 2005 Guidelines for Americans

1. Finding Your Way to A Healthier You: Consumer Advice based on the 2005 Guidelines for Americans • Prepared by Mary Meck Higgins, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., CDE, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Nutrition. 2005. • Contents may be reproduced for educational purposes. All other rights reserved. In each case, credit Mary Meck Higgins, Kansas State University. • Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State University is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Kansas State University, County Extension Councils, Extension Districts, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.

2. Finding Your Way to A Healthier You: Consumer Advice based on the 2005 Guidelines for Americans • Slides prepared by Mary Meck Higgins, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., CDE, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Human Nutrition, • mhiggins@ksu.edu • K-State Research & Extension • February 2005

3. What about the “Food Guide Pyramid”? • Now called “Food Guidance System” • Revised pyramid expected to be released in spring 2005 • Currently unknown what it will look like • Has not been revised since it was introduced in 1992

4. Finding Your Way to a Healthier You • A brochure to assist people in applying the new guidelines in their lives • By HHS & USDA • At www.healthierus.gov

5. Feel better today.Stay healthy for tomorrow. • Here’s how: The food & physical activity choices you make every day affect your health how you feel today, tomorrow & in the future. • The science-based guidelines tell how to: • Make smart choices from every food group. • Find your balance between food and physical activity. • Get the most nutrition out of your calories.

6. Feel better today.Stay healthy for tomorrow. • With healthful habits, you may: • Reduce your risk of many chronic diseases (such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, certain cancers). • Increase your chances for a longer life. • The sooner you start, the better for you, your family & your future.

7. Make smart choicesfrom every food group. • A healthy eating plan: • Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low-fat milk & milk products. • Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs & nuts. • Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) & added sugars.

8. Don’t give in when you eat out& are on the go. • At the store: • Buy a variety of nutrient-rich foods for meals & snacks throughout the week. • When grabbing lunch: • Have a sandwich on whole grain bread. • Choose low-fat / fat-free milk, water or other drinks without added sugars.

9. Don’t give in when you eat out& are on the go. • In a restaurant: • Choose steamed, grilled or broiled dishes. • Do not order dishes that are fried or sautéed. • On a long commute or shopping trip: • Pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, string cheese sticks or a handful of unsalted nuts. • Avoid less healthful snack choices.

10. Mix up your choices within each food group. Focus on fruits: • Eat a variety of fruits. • Choose fresh, frozen, canned or dried for most of your fruit choices. Choose fruit juice less often. • For a 2,000-calorie diet, you need 2 cups of fruit each day. • For example, 1 small banana, 1 large orange & 1/4 cup of dried apricots or peaches.

11. Mix up your choices within each food group Vary your veggies: • Eat more dark green veggies • Broccoli, kale, other dark leafy greens • Eat more orange veggies • Carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash • Eat more beans and peas • Pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, split peas, lentils

12. Mix up your choices within each food group Get your calcium-rich foods: • Get 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk, or an equivalent amount of low-fat yogurt and/or low-fat cheese every day. • 1 1/2 ounces cheese equals 1 cup milk. • Kids 2 to 8 years old need 2 cups of milk. • If you don’t or can’t drink milk, choose lactose-free milk products and/or calcium-fortified foods & beverages.

13. Mix up your choiceswithin each food group Make half your grains whole: • Eat at least 3 ounces of whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or pasta every day. • One ounce is about 1 slice bread, 1 cup breakfast cereal or 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta. • Choose products where grains (such as wheat, rice, oats or corn) are referred to as “whole” in the list of ingredients.

14. Mix up your choices within each food group Go lean with protein: • Choose lean meats and poultry. • Bake it, broil it or grill it. • Eat fish, beans, peas, nuts & seeds as your protein choice more often.

15. Mix up your choices within each food group Know the limits on fats, salt & sugars: • Read the Nutrition Facts label on foods. • Look for foods low in saturated fats & trans fats. • Choose & prepare foods & beverages with: • little salt (sodium) • added sugars (caloric sweeteners)

16. Find your balance between food & physical activity. • Be physically active for at least 30 minutes on most days. Children & teens should be physically active for 60 minutes every day or almost every day. • For greater health benefits & to help prevent body weight gain, increase the intensity or amount of time that you are physically active to 60 minutes a day.

17. Find your balance between food & physical activity. • If you eat 100 more food calories a day than you burn, you’ll gain about 1 pound in a month, or about 10 pounds in a year. • To lose weight, reduce calories & increase physical activity. • To help sustain weight loss, exercise 60 to 90 minutes a day with moderate intensity.

18. Get the most nutritionout of your calories. • Choose the most nutritionally rich foods you can from each food group each day: • Choose foods packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber & other nutrients. • Choose foods lower in calories, added sugars, saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium. • Pick fruits, vegetables, whole grains & fat-free or low-fat milk / milk products more often. • Find the number of calories you need at www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines

19. Nutrition: To know the facts.... • Check servings and calories. • Make your calories count. • Read the ingredient list and reduce added sugars. • Know your fats. • Reduce sodium (salt) & increase potassium.

20. Nutrition: To know the facts … use the label. • For a healthier you, use the Nutrition Facts label found on most packaged foods to make smart food choices quickly & easily. • Keep these low: • saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium • Get enough of these: • potassium, fiber, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron • Use the % Daily Value (DV) column: • 5% DV or less is low • 20% DV or more is high

21. Play it safe with food. Know how to prepare, handle & store food safely: • Clean hands, food-contact surfaces, fruits & vegetables. • Do not wash or rinse meat and poultry so as to avoid spreading bacteria to other foods. • Separate raw, cooked & ready-to-eat foods while shopping, preparing or storing. • Cook meat, poultry & fish to safe internal temperatures to kill microorganisms. • Chill perishable foods promptly & thaw foods properly.

22. About alcohol: • If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. • Some people, or people in certain situations, shouldn’t drink at all. • If you have questions or concerns, talk to your doctor or healthcare provider. • Moderate drinking means up to 1 drink a day for women and up to 2 drinks for men. • One drink is: • 12 ounces regular beer • 5 ounces wine • 1 1/2 ounces 80-proof distilled spirits

23. “Following just some of the recommendations can have health benefits.”

24. Finding Your Way to A Healthier You: Consumer Advice based on the 2005 Guidelines for Americans • What questions do you have? K-State Research & Extension; February 2005