Daily diet requirements vary from person to person depending on your age, weight, height, activity level, and health. According to the Food Pyramid, created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an average 8-year-old girl needs 1.5 cups of fruit and 5 ounces of protein a day, while the daily requirement for a 25-year-old male who stands 6'2" and weighs 190 pounds is 2.5 cups of fruit and 7 ounces of protein. For a balanced diet, everyone needs proper portions and servings from each of the six food groups: grains, vegetables, fruit, calcium rich foods, fats and lean protein.
Grains
Part of your family's daily diet should include grains. MyPyramid.gov suggests at least half of your grain servings come from whole grains. If a product contains whole grains, it is clearly stated on the ingredient list. Grain foods include bread, cereal, crackers, pasta, rice, quinoa and other grains. White bread and baked goods made from white flour are not made from whole grains.
Vegetables
A variety of colorful vegetables provides balanced nutrition to meet your daily diet requirements. Eating baked potatoes and an iceberg lettuce salad every day does not. MyPyramid.gov urges Americans to consume more orange and deep-green vegetables in their daily diets. Raw, juiced, sprouted, cooked and canned vegetables all count toward your daily servings.
Fruit
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends eating several servings of a variety of colorful fruit such as apples, oranges and bananas. According to FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov, a large orange equals one cup of fruit and 16 grapes or four large strawberries equals a half-cup. Consume fruit raw, cooked, dried, as a smoothie or frozen in a pop.
Calcium Rich Foods
Calcium rich foods are part of the daily diet requirements you need to acquire adequate nutrition. MyPyramid.gov recommends dairy products including milk, cheese and yogurt as a primary source of calcium. Non-dairy calcium rich foods include fortified juice and cereal, canned sardines and salmon with bones, soy products and leafy greens.
Lean Protein
Eat lean proteins from animal or vegetable sources to provide your daily dietary requirements. Beef, chicken, game meats, fish, beans, nuts, seed and peas are all recommended sources of protein from the United States Department of Agriculture. Proteins from animal sources are known as complete proteins. Protein from a vegetable source is an incomplete protein and should be eaten in combination with complimentary incomplete protein food to form a complete protein.
Member Comments