Complement your physical activity program with a healthy diet. Good nutrition not only lowers the risk for developing many chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis and some types of cancer, it also helps fuel your body and provides the energy you need to keep moving. Proper nutrition and exercise may be the perfect recipe to maintain or improve your weight. Eat healthy, feel great!
Healthy eating habits are similar to cooking a meal — they both require the proper ingredients in the right amounts to get the desired result. One of the first ingredients of good nutrition is learning what foods to consume to get the right amount of nutrients. MyPyramid, an easy to follow food guide by the United States Department of Agriculture, provides recommendations to help you make smart food choices, get the most nutrition from your calories, and stay within your daily caloric needs. MyPyramid is divided into six colored-coded sections that represent six food groups — grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat/beans, and oils — and provides general recommendations pertaining to each.
Find out more about the health benefits of good nutrition at www.MyPyramid.gov.
Even when healthy eating habits are not established in childhood, good nutrition and eating habits can be developed at any age.
Another ingredient of healthy eating is learning the best cooking techniques to maintain the nutrient content of your food. There are a variety of healthy cooking techniques available to help you create delicious, good-for-you meals. The best way to cook depends on what type of food (vegetables, meats, grains) you are cooking. When preparing food, avoid using fats (oils, butter, margarine, and other solid fats); instead, use water as much as possible. If fat must be used, choose mono- or polyunsaturated fats, such as olive, canola, sunflower and safflower oils. Not only are they unsaturated, they can also help lower cholesterol levels.
Listed in the table below is information about vitamins and minerals that provide important health benefits.
| Vitamins and minerals | Daily recommended amounts for adults 50+ | Common food sources | How your body uses these nutrients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 3,000 IU | Green, yellow or orange vegetables and fruits; dairy products | Promotes good vision, especially night vision; keeps skin, hair and nails healthy; wards off bacterial infection |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.7 mg | Meats, eggs, whole-grain cereals; peanuts, walnuts, wheat germ, soybeans | Helps metabolize carbohydrates and proteins; helps form red blood cells; promotes proper nerve function |
| Vitamin B12 | 2.4 mcg (To improve bioavailability, it is recommended that people over 50 meet the B-12 recommendations through fortified foods or supplements) |
Liver, kidney, meats, fish, shrimp, oysters, dairy products, eggs | Helps body break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates; required for blood formation and neural function |
| Vitamin C | 90 mg | Citrus fruits, tomatoes, green peppers, berries, potatoes, fresh green leafy vegetables | Promotes healing of cuts and wounds; keeps gums healthy; helps resist infection |
| Vitamin D | 600 IU | Saltwater fish, organ meats, fish-liver oils, egg yolks, fortified dairy products | Helps in normal formation of bones and teeth; helps absorb calcium and phosphorus and maintain calcium levels in tissue |
| Vitamin E | 15 mg | Wheat germ, plant fats, seeds and nuts, seafood, eggs, oils | Helps form red blood cells, muscles and other tissues; is an antioxidant |
| Calcium | 1,300 mg | Dairy products, calcium-fortified citrus juices, canned fish (with bones), leafy green vegetables | Maintenance of skeletal muscle rigidity, nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction and relaxation, heart function |
| Iron | 18 mg | Red meats, seafood, fortified cereals, dried beans | Helps carry oxygen to tissues, including muscle |
Below are some of the healthier methods for preparing specific types of foods:
One gram of fat contains nine calories.
Healthy eating doesn't mean you have to avoid eating your favorite meals. You can modify recipes you love and continue enjoying them while improving your nutrition. There are several ways you can modify your meals, such as simply flavoring with herbs and spices instead of fats. You can also replace less nutritious ingredients with healthy substitutions for an easy way to make your recipes taste great and still be healthy.
| Original ingredient | Substitution |
|---|---|
| Whole milk | Fat-free milk |
| Whole eggs | Egg whites |
| Fats (when baking) | Applesauce or bananas |
| White bread | Whole-wheat bread |
| Mayonnaise | Fat-free sour cream or yogurt |
| White rice | Brown rice |
While everything is bigger in Texas, your waistline doesn't have to be! Large portion sizes is a growing problem in Texas and the United States. Knowing the correct portion sizes for different foods and how they should look on your plate is important to avoid overeating.
Not only is portion size important, so is knowing how much food to put on your plate. Imagine there are lines dividing your plate into four equal parts. Half of the plate (two-fourths) should be reserved for vegetables, while the remaining two-fourths should be split evenly between the grain and protein of the meal. By knowing the correct portion sizes, you are on your way to better health.
Eating healthy doesn’t just have to happen at home. Continue the healthy eating habit at restaurants by following these simple rules:
Updated: December 13, 2011