What is a “Healthy Diet”?
A “healthy diet” provides enough essential nutrients, includes foods from all the basic food groups, provides energy to maintain a healthy weight, and does not contain excess fats, sugars, salts or alcohol.
Getting Started
Give your body the balanced nutrition it needs by eating a variety of foods every day, while staying within your caloric needs.
- Emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products
- Include lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs, beans, and nuts
- Choose foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars
Personalize Your Plan
The number of food servings you should get each day from each food group depends on your caloric needs. Visit MyPyramid.gov to find your caloric needs and give you a personalized approach to healthy eating.
Benefits of Proper Nutrition
You may be eating plenty of food, but not food that gives you the nutrients you need to be healthy. With healthful habits, you can decrease your risk for chronic diseases, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and certain cancers while increases your chances for a longer life.
Nearly two out of every three Americans are overweight or obese.
One out of every eight deaths in America is caused by an illness directly related to overweight and obesity. We can make healthy personal choices in your own life to help change this!
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