Building Healthy Eating Patterns
There are many different ways to incorporate the recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines into healthy eating patterns. Currently, however, there is a large discrepancy between the guidelines and the actual American diet. Three eating plans that show how to put the Dietary Guidelines recommendations into action are the USDA Food Pattern (MyPlate), vegetarian adaptations of the USDA Food Pattern, and the DASH Eating Plan. (MyPlate and vegetarian diets are discussed later in the chapter, and the DASH Eating Plan is explained in the Nutrition Resources section at the end of this chapter.) A general principle in all these diets is that people should eat nutrient-dense foods foods with little or no solid fats and added sugars. Another principle is that people should get their nutrients from foods rather than from supplements, although dietary supplements or fortification may be helpful in certain situations.
Farmer’s markets are an important way to bring healthy food choices to residents of inner cities.
Building Healthy Eating Patterns Photo Gallery
Reducing the Saturated and Trans
Your overall goal is to limit total fat intake to no more than 35% of total calories and to favor unsaturated fats over saturated and trans fats. Here are some steps that can help reduce these types of fat in your diet:
• Be moderate in your consumption of foods high in fat, including fast foods, commercially prepared baked goods and desserts, deep-fried food, meat, poultry, nuts and seeds, and regular dairy products.
• When you eat high-fat foods, limit your portion sizes, and balance your intake with other foods that are low in fat.
• Choose lean cuts of meat, and trim any visible fat from meat before and after cooking. Remove skin from poultry before or after cooking.
• Drink fat-free or low-fat milk instead of whole milk, and use lower-fat milk when cooking or baking. Substitute plain low-fat yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, or buttermilk for sour cream.
• Use vegetable oil instead of butter or margarine. Use tub or squeeze margarine instead of stick margarine. Look for margarines that are free of trans fats. Minimize intake of coconut or palm oil.
• Season vegetables, seafood, and meats with herbs and spices rather than with creamy sauces, butter, or margarine.
• Use olive oil and lemon juice on salad, or use a yogurt-based salad dressing instead of mayonnaise or sour cream dressings.
• Steam, boil, bake, or microwave vegetables, or stir-fry them in a small amount of vegetable oil.
• Roast, bake, or broil meat, poultry, and fish so fat drains away as the food cooks.
• Use a nonstick pan for cooking so added fat will be unnecessary; use a vegetable spray for frying.
• Substitute egg whites for whole eggs when baking; limit the number of egg yolks when scrambling eggs.
• Choose fruits as desserts most often.
• Eat a low-fat vegetarian main dish at least once a week.
Helping Americans Make Healthy Choices A final area covered by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the environment in which people make their food choices. To make healthy choices, individuals need opportunities to obtain healthy foods and engage in physical activity. Significant numbers of Americans notably, members of racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and people with lower incomes lack access to affordable, nutritious foods and/or opportunities for safe physical activity in their neighborhoods. The guidelines recognize the problem of f ood security in the United States the ability to acquire adequate food to meet nutritional needs. Nearly 15% of the population is not able to obtain sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs, and as noted above, many more Americans have diets that provide adequate calories but are deficient in essential nutrients.
USDA’s MyPlate
To help consumers put the Dietary Guidelines for Americans into practice, the USDA also issues the food guidance system known as MyPlate (called MyPyramid until 2011). MyPlate is designed to allow individuals to take advantage of the customization made possible by the Internet (Figure 8.4).
Key Messages of MyPlate MyPlate reminds consumers to make healthy food choices and to be active every day. Key messages include the following:
• Personalization is an important element of the MyPlate program and the ChooseMyPlate.gov site, which includes individualized recommendations, interactive assessments of food intake and physical activity, weight-management tools, and tips for success.
Daily physical activity is imperative for maintaining a healthy weight and reducing the risk of chronic disease.
