New Dietary Guidelines Offer Food for Thought

Recommended food choices focus on:

• Fruits (fresh, canned or frozen).
• A wide variety of vegetables, including dark green veggies such as broccoli and kale.
• Low-fat and fat-free calcium-rich foods.
• Whole grains.
• A wide variety of lean meats and other protein sources such as beans, peas, nuts, seeds and fish.

MyPyramid also customizes guidelines based on a person’s height, weight, age, sex and activity level. It also notes the importance of physical activity in a healthy lifestyle.

The guidelines stress that at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity can help lower your risk for chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and certain cancers.

Beth Winthrop, RD, Chief Dietitian for Southcoast Hospitals, said the differences between MyPyramid and previous dietary pyramids are important.

“The explanation of daily requirements in terms of cups and ounces should be helpful to the average person,” she said.

The previous pyramid, for example, recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

“As a group, we are not good at determining what a serving is,” Winthrop said. “MyPyramid advises most people to eat three cups of vegetables each day. A person can measure a cup. It feels more doable. Also, whole grains last longer in your stomach, so you feel full longer while ingesting the same number of calories,” she said. “Plus, a high-fiber diet can lower blood cholesterol levels, help prevent colon cancer and ward off many digestive diseases.”

MyPyramid also provides a number of “free” calories with each recommended food plan.

“That ‘wiggle room’ is important,” Winthrop said. “It makes the guideline less restrictive.”

Talk to your doctor about setting up an exercise program or about a referral to a registered dietitian.

MyPyramid can be found at www.mypyramid.gov. For a free copy of sample guidelines for an 1,800-calorie diet, please see the coupon on the back page.

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