Good Nutrition

The way you eat has a lot to do with how healthy you are – and how healthy you stay. There are many ways to build a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. Choosing to eat healthier foods can be easy if you break big changes into small steps. Put them all together and these small steps can lead to big benefits such as lowering high blood pressure, helping control weight, and reducing the risk for other chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, stroke and heart disease. The way to good health can be as simple as following the A, B, C’s from the 2000 Dietary Guidelines.

Aim for fitness:

• Aim for a healthy weight.
• Be physically active each day.

Build a healthy base:

• Let the Pyramid guide your food choices.
• Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains.
• Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily.
• Keep foods safe to eat.

Choose sensibly:

• Choose a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat.
• Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars.
• Choose and prepare foods with less salt.
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

Additional Information:

• Good News Grains
• Eat a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables
• Food Safety
• The Lowdown on Fat
• Tame Your Sweet Tooth
• Shake the Salt Habit
• What is drinking in moderation?

Last Updated: 09/08/2005