Dietary Guidelines For Dummies

"Consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups." 

To follow this guideline you need to know what a “nutrient-dense” food is.  A nutrient-dense food is one that supplies a significant amount of the six nutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water) for the number of calories consumed. For example, an apple is nutrient-dense because you get carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water for less than 100 calories. A can of coke, on the other hand, is not; you consume only added sugar, caffeine, preservatives and water for 160 calories.

When you’re trying to figure out the nutrient density of a food, a good rule-of-thumb is to ask yourself how processed a food is. In general, the more “whole” a food is, or the closer it is to its “natural” form, the more nutrient-dense it will be. For example, a potato is more nutrient-dense than a bag of potato chips.

If you follow this guideline and opt for nutrient-dense foods you’ll find that you feel fuller for less calories. This helps with weight control. Follow these quick tips for choosing nutrient-dense foods:

• Limit packaged foods
• Choose less processed foods, e.g. choose wholegrain bread instead of white bread, or bean soup instead of a fast-food burrito
• Choose orange juice with pulp instead of orange punch
• Choose unfiltered apple juice instead of apple drink
• Avoid soda or beverages such as Kool-Aid
• Read the ingredient list on packaged foods. Look for natural ingredients and avoid foods where fat or added sugar is one of the first three ingredients.

"To maintain a body weight in a healthy range, balance calories from foods and beverages with calories expended."

“Calories expended”? Sound like you’re doing your monthly budget? Actually, that’s a great way to apply this crucial guideline – only in this case you don’t want to save anything; this is strictly an expense account! 

Every day you have a certain “budget” in your “calorie account”. This is the number of calories you need to live and grow at a healthy weight and is based on factors such as gender, age, height, and weight. It usually ranges from 1200 to 2000 calories per day. Your aim is to keep that calorie account as balanced as possible. So, if you spend a few extra calories, i.e. by exercising more than usual, you can top off your account by eating some more. If, on the other hand you add more calories to your account by eating too much, you need to go out and spend the extras on some exercise!

These tips should help you with your calorie budgeting:

• Use a Food and Exercise Diary to record how many calories you consume, and how many you expend through exercising – kind of like a bank statement. Remember to record your snacks and drinks as well.
• Eat smaller portions. Large portion sizes mean more calories. This is an easy way to reduce the amount of calories you consume.
• Don’t consume all your calories in one meal. Eat 3-5 small meals throughout the day instead.

"Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight."

Why don’t we just come right out and say it? We need to quit being so darn lazy! “Sit less and move more” is the message of this guideline – and it’s a crucial one. Those “sedentary activities” we need to reduce are sitting at the computer, sitting in the car, sitting in front of the TV – in fact any “activity” in which our bodies are not really active! “Engage in regular physical activity” means exercise for around 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. Of course, we hear this message repeatedly. And yet…most of us still don’t act on it!

Perhaps the most important thing to realize is that exercising regularly does not have to mean going to the gym. A 15 minute walk to the bank or coffee shop at lunch time, and 15 minutes playing ball with your kids in the evening will do it. Try these tips for getting enough exercise:

• Use a pedometer. A pedometer attaches to your waistband or belt and records the number of steps you walk each day. 10,000 steps is the target for getting a good amount of exercise.
• Instead of driving, walk or bike whenever you can.
• Encourage your kids to play outside instead of sitting in front of the TV – and then join in!
• Take up a new “active” hobby, such as dancing, tennis, or roller-blading.

"Consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables each day."

In other words… Eat Your Greens! But here’s a hint – the second part of this guideline will help you up your intake considerably. If you opt for a “variety of fruits and vegetables” each day, you’ll find it’s much easier to consume more. Consider a fruit and vegetable buffet. Everyone knows that you eat more at buffets than you do at regular restaurants because there is a greater selection. It works the same with your daily spread of fruits and vegetables – the more variety, the merrier your health!

The guidelines recommend two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables per day for a 2000 calorie intake – that’s equivalent to 5-9 servings a day.  Here are some hints to help you reach that goal:

• Try new vegetables and fruits that you’ve never eaten before. See the Fruits and Vegetables section of the CalorieKing.com library for more information. (Click on the link below).
• Think color – eat color! Mix and match as much as you can – red, orange, yellow, green, purple, white. Different colors mean different goodies for your body and immune system - plus, it makes your plate more appetizing.
• Just add veggies! Get in the habit of adding vegetables to anything and everything – omelets, soups, casseroles, stir-fries, pasta sauces, risottos, sandwiches and so on. Throw a handful in here and there and you’ll be well on your way to 5+ a day.
• Keep a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table.
• Keep your fridge stocked with celery, carrots and other veggies that are easy to snack on.

"Consume three or more ounce-equivalents of whole-grain products per day."

Confused? We were! In translation… “consume three or more ounce-equivalents” means eat at least three 1 oz servings of wholegrain foods per day. Common 1 oz servings of wholegrain products include a half cup of cooked brown rice, a half cup of whole-wheat pasta, 1-3 slices of wholegrain bread, or one serving of wholegrain cereal. A good approach is to choose wholegrain (brown) instead of refined grain (white) products whenever you can. Try these hints to help you out:

• Serve or request brown or wild rice instead of white. Be persistent with this choice - brown rice can take some getting used to, but once you're hooked, you'll love it!
• Use whole-wheat tortillas for burritos and wrap sandwiches
• Ditch those Cocoa Puffs in favor of a wholegrain cereal such as those newly out from General Mills
• Choose breads with flecks of grain in them such as rye, oatmeal, wholegrain, 7 grain, sprouted grain etc. (i.e. those that least resemble Wonderbread!)
• Add brown or wild rice to soups
• Choose wholegrain crackers and snack foods

"Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids… and keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible. Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories." 

If you feel like this guideline is pointing a finger at you – you’re probably right.  Most people eat too much fat. Too much meat, too much cheese, too many doughnuts, too much ice cream, too much candy, too many fries, and so on. And here’s the thing – the only way to cut down on fat is to… tah dah… eat less of it! The most important fats to eat less of are saturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are found in meat and in such animal products as milk, butter, cream etc. Trans fats are found in processed foods such as store-bought cookies, cakes, doughnuts and chips. Anything made with hydrogenated oil (including some margarines) contains trans fat. Eat these foods infrequently and in small quantities.

Fats such as those from avocados, nuts, fish, canola and olive oil are “healthy” fats, but these still need to be eaten conservatively.

But how do you know if you’ve had 10 percent of your calories from saturated fats? The best way is to calculate 10 percent of your daily calories and then translate that into fat grams. For example, if you consume 1500 calories a day, 150 calories can come from saturated fat. There are 9 calories per gram of fat, so dividing 150 by 9 that equates to around 17g of saturated fat. A doughnut, a tbsp of butter, and a glass of milk together contain 16g of saturated fat and would almost put you at your limit. Here are some other common equivalents for quick reference.

Total Fat, Saturated Fat and Trans Fat Content Per Serving*

*Based on a 2000 calorie-per-day diet.
** Butter values from FDA Table of Trans Values, 1/30/95.