The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed dietary guidelines for Americans through MyPyramid.gov. These guidelines provide scientific advice regarding physical activity and food choices for maintaining good health and define the foods one should normally eat as part of a regular diet.
Identification
The USDA defines a regular, healthy diet as one that includes poultry, fish, eggs, beans, meats and nuts. Regular diet foods also emphasize consumption of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and fat-free or low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt. Regular diet foods are low in cholesterol, saturated fats, trans fats, salt and sugar content.
Features
My Pyramid recommends that you have between 3 to 4 oz. of grains, 2 to 3 cups of vegetables, 1.5 to 2 cups of fruits, 3 cups of milk, 5 to 6 oz. of meat and beans and between 5 to 7 tsp. of oils per day.
Benefits
There are a myriad of benefits associated with consuming regular diet foods. My Pyramid particularly exhorts the benefits of consuming a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as a way to reduce your risk of developing a stroke; type 2 diabetes; stomach, mouth and colon-rectum cancer; coronary heart disease; and kidney stones. My Pyramid states the primary benefits of consuming whole grains (particularly those rich in fiber) includes reducing constipation and maintaining a healthy weight. The primary benefits of consuming dairy products are that they help build strong bones and decrease the risk of osteoporosis. The protein contained in meat and beans serves as the foundation for your muscles, bones, skin, cartilage and blood.
Considerations
My Pyramid encourages varying your protein choices by eating a variety of protein-rich foods such as lean meats, fish rich with omega-3 fatty acids, stir-fried tofu, hummus, baked beans, chili with pinto beans, baked bean enchiladas and nuts. Creative ways to add nuts to your diet include using pine nuts in pesto pasta sauce, adding toasted cashews or peanuts to vegetable stir fry, sprinkling nuts onto frozen yogurt and adding walnuts to salads.
You should avoid raw milk or dairy products made out of unpasteurized milk. Creative ways to consume milk products include adding yogurt to your meals, making pudding out of milk and making smoothies out of yogurt and fruit. You can add fruit to your cereal or yogurt for breakfast or make low-fat fruit tarts or eat cut-up fruit as a snack. You can make main dishes incorporating vegetables and grains, such as pasta with vegetables, or make zucchini bread.
Warning
It is important that you consume the recommended amount of each of the regular diet food groups each day to prevent illness and disease. The amount of foods in each food group you should consume is based on your age, gender and level of physical activity.
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