The Basics of Nutrition

How you feel and how you look are in many ways the results of what you eat. Eating well is a challenge! The goal is to satisfy hunger and ward off the desire for certain foods, as well as, choosing a wide variety of foods in moderation to promote health and prevent disease.

Of course, food alone isn't the key to a longer and healthier life. Good nutrition should be part of an overall healthy lifestyle, which also includes regular exercise, not smoking or drinking alcohol excessively, stress management, limiting exposure to environmental hazards and other factors. And no matter how well you eat, your genes play a big part in your risk for certain health problems. But don't underestimate the influence of how and what you eat.

The is a somewhat useful tool for making healthful food choices. By providing an outline of what types and how much food individuals should be striving for each day it allows you to ensure a healthy eating style and manage your weight. The Pyramid symbol reinforces the notion that not one single food can provide all the nutrition your body needs to maintain health. It supports the need to choose from all the food groups and explains the building blocks of a healthful diet. Although this serves as a guideline for the majority of North Americans, it is important to note that many individuals may require diets which are prescribed and do not follow the exact recommendations specified in the Food Guide Pyramid.

The three main messages about healthful eating found in the Food Guide Pyramid are: variety, balance and moderation.

Variety
Eating a variety of foods ensures you consume a variety of nutrients, provided you are not choosing low nutrient dense foods. This ensures that your body will get the proper amount of nutrients without excess sugars and fats. It is important to choose a variety of foods from among the food groups as well as within the food groups. For example, instead of always choosing an apple and banana to meet your fruit requirements, try some blueberries and oranges (or other fruits) as well.

Balance
To keep your diet balanced it is a good idea not to limit or restrict your food intake. You need to eat enough food so that you feel full but not so much that you feel stuffed. For example, throughout the day and particularly before and after meals and snacks, tune into your stomach. Focus on the sensation of hunger or fullness. Start to eat when you feel hungry and stop when you are comfortably full, such as, when there is a feeling of satisfaction but with some room leftover.

Balancing flavors as well as type of foods will help satisfy you and may reduce your desire to eat more. Try to appeal to all your senses by creating a meal or snack that looks good and tastes good, including different flavors and colors. For example, you may be tempted to save time by eating just one food item, but by adding a little hearty mustard, pickles, or a lettuce leaf, and different types of bread, suddenly your turkey sandwich takes on a whole new look and balance.

Moderation
If your diet is balanced, you are getting the nutrients and calories your body needs. Since this obviously will vary from person to person The Food Guide Pyramid gives a range for the number of servings for each group and suggests how many you need based upon age, gender, and activity level. You should check with your doctor to be sure which guidelines are right for you.

For example:
For older adults, and many inactive women, choosing the minimum suggested number of servings within each food group will provide approximately 1600 calories per day.

For children, teenage girls, active women and many inactive men, choosing the mid-range suggested number of servings will provide approximately 2200 calories per day.

For women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, active men, teenage boys and athletes, choosing the high-end suggested number of servings will provide the approximately 2800 calories per day.

Not only do the number of servings differ for various types of people, but the serving sizes of various foods also differ - even among similar foods. To get a handle on the appropriate portion sizes for you, pull out your measuring cups, spoons or food scale, if you have one. Measure and weigh a suggested portion size and compare it to the portion size you typically choose. You may be in for a surprise!

To maintain good health it is not important to weigh and measure your food every day. Just get a general idea of the right portion size and then eyeball it. The same is true for food selection. You don't need to rigidly adhere to the Food Guide Pyramid every single day, but you should be striving for it at least 75% of the time.

Try to think of it this way: if there are 21 meals in a week, and 18 of them are well balanced that would allow for three "out-of-balance" meals throughout the week. Occasionally missing a meal or a nutrient or even adding in a high fat or high sugared item is not harmful. However, continually skipping meals or skimping on meals will eventually catch up with you. If your diet does get short-changed in one particular area one day, just try to make up for it the next.

Overall, the Food Guide Pyramid's message of variety, balance and moderation, is a simple approach to healthy nutrition and disease prevention but these guidelines do not apply to all, so consult a professional nutritionist for further information on your specific needs.

Reference Source 22,25,26,44