The Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont

added 02/07/11

by Mary Saucier Choate
Co-op Food and Nutrition Educator

With so much nutrition information out there on the web, on TV shows and infomercials, and in diet books, it can be confusing to know where to go for trustworthy guidance. The new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a one-stop shop for reliable information on what to eat for your best health. The six chapters cover what to make sure you eat, what to avoid eating, how to move towards or maintain a healthy weight, guidance for pregnancy, lactation, children, and aging and much more.

The first chapter provides an overview, but the “meat” of the guidelines follows, in chapters two through five: Balancing Calories To Manage Weight; Foods And Food Components To Reduce; Foods And Nutrients To Increase; and Building Healthy Eating Patterns. Chapter Six: Helping Americans Make Healthy Choices; has guidance for educators and policy and health professionals on the importance of taking action to change our current overeating and sedentary living environment towards one that more vigorously supports healthful eating choices and regular physical activity.

Often overlooked sections of any publication are the appendices that appear at the end. In this case, they are so valuable that they should not be missed. The appendices contain valuable, time-saving tools that can help motivated eaters zoom right to what they need to improve their personal and family food choices.

Don’t have time to read the entire Guidelines publication, but want a quick guide to the information on specific groups such as children, pregnant women, older adults, or those with chronic disease?- see appendix one.

Educators will want to study appendix two with its comprehensive table of “how-to” consumer tips to encourage healthy habits based on the guidelines.

Want to keep your family safe from foodborne illness? Appendix Three covers home food safety guidance.

Looking to finally understand how to use the food label and ingredient list to stop getting fooled by manufacturers’ claims and advertising? Appendix Four explains it all.

Wonder how much protein or calcium you need? Appendix 5 covers this information for all ages.

How many calories are right for you? Check out Appendix 6.

Ready to make some eating changes? Whether you are a carnivore, vegetarian, or vegan, appendices 7-10 contain helpful meal patterns that meet nutritional needs for all kinds of eaters.

Pregnant women will want to use Appendix 11 to see which high mercury fish to avoid, and which low mercury fish to include in their weekly intake.

Looking to include more potassium, fiber, calcium, vitamin D, or fiber in your diet? Appendices 12-15 have you covered.

The final appendix, sixteen, is an excellent glossary of terms used in the guidelines report, explaining such terms as trans fats, saturated fats, and healthful oils; the difference between “nutrient dense” and “calorie dense” and much more useful information.

Over the next few weeks I will cover the actual main chapters of the Dietary Guidelines, but I thought I would start with these helpful tools for those who wish to get moving right away.

For more information, visit www.dietaryguidelines.gov