Diet is one of the most powerful ways we can reduce the onset of disease. Healthy eating patterns can help prevent obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. Healthy eating patterns don’t have to be boring or restricting. Healthy eating patterns can incorporate foods people enjoy and don’t have to be a strain on their budget.
An eating pattern is the combination of all the foods and beverages a person eats and drinks over time. So it is important to consider the big picture because a person’s food and beverage choices add up over their lives and affect their overall health. A healthy eating pattern focuses on: staying within appropriate calorie limits for a person’s age, sex and activity level; meeting nutritional needs; and being achievable and maintainable in the long-term. One way to achieve a healthy eating pattern is to choose a variety of nutrient-dense foods from across all of the food groups. These foods are packed naturally with important nutrients and have little or no added solid fats, sugars, refined starches or sodium.
Under the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), here are some key pieces of information:
1. Your food and beverage choices should include: a variety of vegetables including dark green, red and orange, legumes, starchy and other vegetables; fruits, especially whole fruits; grains, at least half of which are whole grains; low- or fat-free dairy, including milk, yogurt and cheese; a variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes, and nuts, seeds and soy products; oils, including those from plants such as canola, corn, olive, safflower, etc and those naturally occurring in nuts, seeds, olives, seafood and avocados.
2. Cut down on added sugars. It is suggested to consume less than 10% of your daily calories. Naturally occurring sugars such as those found in milk or fruits don’t count toward the limit, because they come with valuable nutrients and fiber.
3. Not all fats are the same. The recommendation is still to limit saturated fats to less than 10% of calories a day and continues to warn against trans fats found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
4. Keep watching your sodium intake by limiting to 2300 milligrams per day. There is a caveat for people 51 and older, African-Americans and those with hypertension and other chronic conditions to limit their daily intake to 1500 milligrams.
More specific recommendations are available in the appendices of the DGA at http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.
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To learn more, contact Janell at the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3036, janellb@montana.edu or in the Chouteau County Courthouse at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton with any questions or for more information.
Montana State University, US Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach
