Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010

Every 5 years the US Department of Agriculture updates the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 2010 was an update year and the new guidelines are now available. The major theme of the document revolves around two important messages: eat less and move more.

A new component added this year is the tips offered for how to eat better. The specifics on how to balance calories to manage weight, to reduce some foods and food components while increasing other foods and nutrients, as well as building healthy eating patterns have never been included before.

Here are some easy tips to eating healthier in the New Year from the 2010 Guidelines:
Eat more seafood -- at least 8 ounces a week
This offers healthy fats along with a good source of protein
Eat more fruits and vegetables
Fill up faster on fewer calories as well as get key nutrients needed to “burn calories”
Substitute healthy oils for solid fats
This aids in the fluidity of your blood vessels and prevents hardening of the arteries, a risk factor for heart disease
Lower your sodium intake
Can also help with weight loss from unnecessary water retention as well as controlling blood pressure
Avoid fast foods
Most fast foods contain too much sodium and bad (saturated) fat and not enough nutrients and good fats (poly and mono unsaturated)
Exercise more
Burn calories and strengthen your bones and muscles
Read food labels
Specifically pay attention to serving sizes, calories, fat and sodium. Watch out for added sugars and keep the number of ingredients as low as possible.
Get plenty of fiber, potassium, and vitamin D
Key nutrients that most Americans do not get enough of
Eat/drink more nonfat or low-fat dairy products
Dairy products contain lots of calcium for healthy bone growth and maintenance
For some Americans, drink less alcohol
One drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men

Following the new recommendations can not only help us move towards chronic disease prevention, but can also help us to maintain calorie balance over time to achieve and sustain a healthy weight!