Getting proper nutrition can be frustrating: it seems like you've only had time to begin adjusting to one diet practice when the news announces a new discovery that makes you start all over again. But don't despair. Despite changes in our knowledge of how nutrition and the body work, the basic best practices remain consistent.
Calories and Weight Control
The United States Department of Agriculture, the entity responsible for making nutrition suggestions to America, recommends eating enough calories for your body to fuel its daily activities, but not so many that you gain too much weight. An average American male should take in 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day - females should take in 1,800 to 2,300. This is based on the assumption of an average lifestyle consisting of a sedentary job and two or three sessions of exercise per week. If you are significantly more or less active than this, you may need to adjust your caloric intake.
The Food Pyramid
The USDA unveiled its food pyramid during the 1980's, and this advice has been widely accepted. However, recent research reported by the Harvard School of Public Health makes more detailed recommendations based on the discoveries of the past three decades. This Food Pyramid states you should eat vegetables "in abundance" and take in whole grains with almost every meal. You should eat fruits, nuts and legumes twice or three times per day each. As for animal products, just seven servings per week - and mostly fish and poultry, with just one or two servings of dairy per day. The pyramid relegates several foods to be enjoyed only as an occasional treat: refined grains, potatoes, sweets, red meat and butter.
Adjunct Behaviors
The Harvard research also makes recommendations about diet and nutrition not part of the basic food pyramid. Take a daily multivitamin to help fill in any nutritional holes left by your diet plan. Based on findings in the 1990's and early 2000's, they also suggest alcohol in moderation for those over 40 with risk for heart disease. Without these risk factors in place, the health benefits of regular alcohol consumption are outweighed by the risks of forming a drinking habit.
Fats and Oils
Nutritionists used to believe that all fats and oils were bad for you, and many people still maintain that belief. However, the most recent research divides natural fats into two groups. Unsaturated fats are actually heart-healthy. They stimulate your body to produce system-cleaning HDL cholesterol. Saturated fats produce harmful cholesterol in your system, and should be avoided as you've gotten accustomed to doing with fats in general. Because of this new knowledge, the USDA requires all food labels to list not only how much fat a food contains, but the breakdown of types of fat in that food.
References
- "USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference"; USDA; 2009
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett MD, et al; 2006
- "You: The Owner's Manual"; Dr. Mehmet Oz; 2006
Member Comments