Nutrition

While most adults already know it is important to eat a healthy diet, many may find it more difficult to sort through all of the information about nutrition and food choices. Below are a variety of resources to help you start healthier eating habits.

Guidelines for Good Nutrition

These nutrition guidelines, developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, represent the best, most current advice for healthy Americans 2 years and older. They reflect recommendations of health and nutrition experts to encourage certain eating practices. Learn about the seven Dietary Guidelines.

It is also important to understand portion sizes of the foods we choose. Learning to read the food labels will help us understand what we are eating.  Learn more about portion sizes and reading food labels.

The USDA has developed a tool, MyPyramid Tracker, that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages and links to nutrient and physical activity information.

Energy In and Energy Out

Your nutritional choices, along with physical activity, can help you establish and maintain a healthy weight. Balancing the energy (calories) you take in with the energy you use will maintain your healthy weight. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. Learn more about balancing your energy.

Source: CDC

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and Vegetables are part of a well-balanced and healthy eating plan. 5 A Day for Better Health is a national program that shows the importance of eating fruits and veggies and helps you increase the number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables you eat to five or more servings. The 5 A Day program provides easy ways to add more fruits and vegetables into your daily eating patterns. Try these recipes that incorporate fruits and vegetables from 5 A Day for Better Health.

Source: CDC