Every year, the USDA produces a list of dietary guidelines that represent the latest information on healthy food standards. Understand these guidelines to help you make healthy food choices for you and your family.
Balanced Caloric Intake
The USDA encourages Americans to maintain a healthy caloric balance. This will help you reduce your weight, if you are overweight, or maintain your current healthy weight. Balance your caloric needs by seeking foods that provide nutrient dense calories. Seek out foods that have dense proportions of vitamins and minerals for their given caloric values. This will help you gain nutrition at low caloric cost.
Healthy Choices
Follow a diet that contains proteins, grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Consider the types of foods you eat to fulfill these requirements and opt for those that are better for you. For proteins, eat seafood instead of red meat, which contains higher levels of fat. For dairy products, look for low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream. For grains, target whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal and wheat flour. A significant portion of your diet should come from fruits and vegetables.
Unhealthy Foods
Limit your consumption of certain food components, the USDA advises. The average person should consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. This number drops to 1,500 milligrams for members of at-risk groups, including those over 51; individuals who have diabetes, kidney problems or hypertension; and African Americans. Avoid foods with saturated and trans-fats, as well as foods that contain refined or processed sugars and grains. Avoiding trans-fats and saturated fats will help decrease cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. Excess sugars provide calories without nutrition and decrease the nutritional value of your food. Limit consumption of fatty red meat, processed foods that contain partially hydrogenated oils and products made from white flour.
Considerations
Monitor your food intake to meet healthy food standards. Read nutrition labels on food packaging to identify the ingredients and nutrition information. Nutrition labels provide information on fats, calories, cholesterol, sodium, vitamins and other nutrients. Use these food guides to choose healthy products and avoid products that contain high levels of unhealthy ingredients.
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