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2: Achieving a Healthy Diet

  • Page ID
    14660
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    In Chapter 2, we explore the tools you can use to achieve a healthy diet, as well as important nutrition concepts like balance and moderation.

    • 2.1: Overview of Why we Need Recommendations for What to Eat and How Much
      The government works to provide citizens with information, guidance, and access to healthy foods. How will you decide which information to follow? What are the elements of a healthy diet, and how do you figure out ways to incorporate them into your personal diet plan? The dietary toolkit can be likened to a mechanics toolkit, with every tool designed for a specific task(s). Likewise, there are many tools in the dietary toolkit that can help you build, fix, or maintain your diet for good health.
    • 2.2: Why Nutrition is Critical for Health
      Nutrition promotes vitality and an overall sense of health and well-being by providing the body with energy and nutrients that fuel growth, healing, and all body systems and functions. Good nutrition will also help to ward off the development of chronic disease. A person is malnourished by being either undernourished or overnourished. Malnutrition results when the body does not receive the required amounts of calories, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals necessary.
    • 2.3: What Constitutes a Healthy Diet?
      A healthful diet is adequate in providing proper amounts of nutrient-dense foods, is balanced in relation to food types so that one nutrient is not consumed at the expense of another, practices calorie control by supplying food energy to match energy output, is moderate in unwanted constituents, and draws from a variety of nutritious foods. Nutrient-dense foods contribute to daily nutritional requirements while limiting caloric intake to either lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight.
    • 2.5: Food Labels and How to Read Them
      The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act made it a law that foods sold in the United States have a food label that provides the accurate contents of nutrients within them. A Nutrition Facts panel gives information on the amount of servings per container, the amount of calories per serving, and the amounts of certain nutrients. The percent DV is the percentage of the amount of the nutrient in the food in relationship to its recommended intake.
    • 2.6: Trustworthy Sources of Information
      Reliable nutritional news will be based upon solid scientific evidence, supported by multiple studies, and published in peer-reviewed journals. Be sure the website you use for information comes from a credible and trustworthy source, such as the USDA Food and Nutrition Center, the HHS, and the CDC.
    • 2.7: My Plate - A Guide for Eating More Healthfully
      ​​​​​​The Food Pyramid has been replaced by MyPlate, a system that was designed to be easier to implement. The new MyPlate encourages all plates to be filled with fruits and vegetables (50 percent), protein (25 percent), and grains (25 percent). Half of daily grain intake should be from whole-grain sources. Dairy choices should be switched to low-fat or non-fat sources. A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables will help you lose and/or maintain weight.
    • 2.8: Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020
      US dietary guidelines are based on evolving scientific evidence and are updated every five years. The goals of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines are to prevent nutrient inadequacy, promote health, reduce chronic disease, and decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity. To have a healthy eating pattern, reduce the intake of sodium, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, and refined grains. Increase consumption of fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, dietary fiber, and oils.
    • 2.9: National Goals for the Future
      Healthy People 2020 is a health initiative with a ten-year objective of helping Americans improve health and well-being, and to live long, healthy lives. The goals of Healthy People 2020 are founded upon a determinants of health approach, which means they are reflective of the circumstances in which people are born, live, and work, as well as the conditions that shape their circumstances such as money, power, and resources at the local, national, and global levels.
    • 2.4: The Dietary Reference Intakes - How much of a Nutrient should we Consume?
      Nutrient-intake recommendations set for healthy people living in the United States and Canada are known as Dietary Reference Intakes. The DRIs includes the AI, EAR, RDA, and UL for micronutrients and the AMDR ranges for energy-yielding macronutrients. The DRI provide a set of standards for researchers and government policy-makers, and specifies nutrient consumption guidelines for individuals.
    • 2.E: Exercises


    2: Achieving a Healthy Diet is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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