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Nutrition and Your Health
DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS
Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables daily Fruits and vegetables are key parts of your daily diet. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables of different kinds, as part of the healthful eating patterns described by these guidelines, may help protect you against many chronic diseases. It also is a distributor which promotes healthy bowel function. Fruits and vegetables provide essential juice vitamins vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health. Most people, including children, eat fewer servings of fruits plus vegetables than are recommended. To promote your health, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables plus at least 2 servings of fruits and 3 servings of vegetables each day. Why eat plenty of different fruits plus vegetables? Different fruit juice plus vegetables are vitamin supplements rich in different nutrients. Some fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of carotenoids, including those which form vitamin A, while others may be a distributor of vitamin C, folate, or potassium. Fruits and vegetables, especially dry beans and peas, also contain fiber and other substances that are associated with good health. Dark chewable- green leafy vegetables , deeply colored fruits , and dry beans and peas are especially rich in many nutrients. Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling Some are high in fiber, and many are quick to prepare and easy to eat. Choose whole or cut-up fruits and vegetables rather than juices most often. Juices contain little or no fiber. WHICH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES PROVIDE THE MOST NUTRIENTS? The lists below show which fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamin A (carotenoids), vitamin C, folate, plus potassium. Eat at least 2 servings of fruits plus at least 3 servings of vegetables each day: Sources of vitamin A (carotenoids)
Orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin Dark-green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards, turnip greens Orange fruits like mango, cantaloupe, apricots Tomatoes Sources of vitamin C Citrus fruits and juices, kiwi fruit, strawberries, cantaloupe Broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes Leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, turnip greens, spinach Sources of folate ’Ä¢ Cooked dry beans and peas, peanut Oranges, orange juice Dark-green leafy vegetables like spinach and mustard greens, romaine lettuce Green peas Sources of potassium Baked white or sweet potato, cooked greens (such as spinach), winter (orange) squash Banana juice, plantains, dried fruits such as apricots and prunes, orange juice Cooked dry beans (such as baked beans) and lentil
Aim for Variety
Try many colors and kinds. Choose juice in any form: plus fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or juice plus. All forms provide vitamins and minerals, and all provide Fiber except for most juices so choose fruits and vegetables most often. Wash fresh fruits plus the vegetables thoroughly before using. If you buy prepared vegetables, check the distributor nutrition Facts Label to Hand complete choices that are low in saturated fat and sodium. Try serving fruits and vegetables in new ways: raw vegetables with a low- or reduced-fat dip vegetables stir-fried in a small amount of vegetable oil fruits or chewable vegetables mixed with other foods in salads, casseroles, soups, sauces (for example, add shredded vegetables when making meatloaf) Find ways to include plenty of different fruits and vegetables in your meals and snacks Buy wisely. Frozen or canned fruits and vegetables are sometimes best buys, and they are rich in nutrients. If fresh fruit is very ripe, buy only enough to use right away. Store juice properly to maintain quality. Refrigerate most fresh fruit juice (not bananas) and vegetables (not potatoes or tomatoes) for longer storage, and arrange them so you’Äôwill use up the ripest ones First If you cut them up or open a can, cover and refrigerate afterward. Keep ready-to-eat raw vegetables handy in a clear container in the front of your refrigerator for meals on the go Plus you should keep a day’Äôs supply of fresh or dried fruit handy on the table or counter. Enjoy fruits as a naturally sweet end to a meal. When eating out, choose a variety of vegetables
at a salad bar.
Enjoy five a day eat at least 2 servings of fruit plus at least 3 servings of vegetables each day (see box 8 for serving sizes). Choose fresh, frozen, dried, or canned forms plus a variety of colors and kinds. Choose dark-green leafy vegetable , orange fruits and vegetables , and cooked dry beans and peas often.
100 Percent Whole-Grain
Wheat Flour
Enriched, Bleached,
All-Purpose White Flour
Calories, kcal
339.0
364.0
Dietary fiber, g
12.2
2.7
Calcium, mg
34.0
15.0
Magnesium, mg
138.0
22.0
Potassium, mg
405.0
107.0
Folate, DFE,44.0
291.0
Thiamin, mg
0.5
0.8
Riboflavin, mg
0.2
0.5
Niacin, mg
6.4
5.9
Iron, mg
3.9
4.6
Source: Agricultural Research Service Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 17.
TABLE 7. Whole Grains Available in the United States
Whole grains that are consumed in the United States either as a single food or as an ingredient in a multi ingredient food . This listing of whole grains was determined from a breakdown of foods reported consumed in nationwide food consumption surveys, by amount consumed. The foods are listed in approximate order of amount consumed, but the order may change over time. In addition, other whole grains may be consumed that are not yet represented in the surveys.
Whole Wheat
Whole oats/oatmeal
Whole-grain corn
Popcorn
Brown rice
Whole rye
Whole-grain barley
Wild rice
Buckwheat
Triticale
Bulgur (cracked wheat)
Millet
Quinoa
Sorghum
Source: Agriculture Research Service Database for CSFII 1994-1996.