A healthy diet can play a major role in your overall health, helping to control weight and prevent diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Adults can follow a healthy diet plan by following some basic nutrition guidelines from nonprofit groups such as the USDA and Harvard School of Public Health. The FDA's Food Guide Pyramid offers a basic framework to help adults decide what and how much to eat of each food group.
The Food Guide Pyramid
The USDA's Food Guide Pyramid recommends healthy adults include the following food groups in their diets: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat and beans. The Pyramid offers serving suggestions that can be tailored to each individual's sex, weight, age and activity level. The Food Guide Pyramid includes tips as well, such as recommendations to eat more whole grains, dark green and orange veggies, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, fish and beans.
Types
The Harvard School of Public Health advises paying attention to what types of food you eat from each food group, as some foods have more nutrients and less harmful fats than others. For protein sources, Harvard School of Public Health recommends fish, nuts, poultry and beans instead of more high-fat, high-cholesterol protein sources such as red meat. For dairy foods, try low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheeses and reduced fat milk to avoid consuming high amounts of saturated fat. Also, seek out fresh foods whenever possible, eating whole fruits instead of drinking juices, for instance.
The Truth About Fats
According to Help Guide, a healthy diet should incorporate "good" fats and avoid or limit "bad" fats. Harmful fats include trans fats, which are found in processed foods such as chips, many fast foods, and pre-packaged desserts, as well as saturated fats, found in many animal products such as whole-fat dairy products and red meat. Helpful fats that aid with vital functions in the body include monounsaturated fats that are found in avocados, plant oils, nuts and seeds. Polyunsaturated fats, occurring in fish and flaxseed oil, also offer essential nutrients that improve the body's health.
Considerations
Adults seeking to eat healthy can find success by making lifestyle changes that will offer lasting results. Help Guide recommends focusing on general concepts and strategies instead of getting too caught up on exact calorie and portion counting at first. Strive to incorporate a variety of colors, shapes and textures of foods in your diet and you will most likely be getting a variety of nutrients. Harvard School of Public Health states that a nutritious diet plan is not complicated, and should be based on a plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Benefits
A healthy diet offers significant health benefits. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of Americans, and a healthy diet and exercise are the best ways to prevent heart disease. Eating healthy also helps with weight loss and maintenance and preventing obesity, which has been linked to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and early death.
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