You are what you eat, so eat healthy! Your diet is your body's only source for a variety of essential nutrients that give you energy and perform many other critical functions. Along with regular exercise, eating nutritious food in a balanced diet also helps control your weight and may give you some protection against certain diseases.
General dietary guidelines include:
- Eating a variety of nutritious foods.
- Eating plenty of grains, vegetables and fruits.
- Limiting your intake of sugar, salt, sodium, alcohol, fat and cholesterol.
Essentials
Five major food groups give your body its essential nutrients. Carbohydrates, fats and proteins provide calories for energy. You also need vitamins and minerals in very small amounts and plenty of fiber and water.
Carbohydrates: Your body's main source of energy, carbohydrates come almost exclusively from plants. Complex carbohydrates are starches and fiber in vegetables and grain (i.e., breads, cereals, rice, pasta and vegetables) that give you calories without much fat. Simple carbohydrates are sugars in fruits and sucrose (i.e., honey or molasses) that give you energy but little else nutritionally. Carbohydrates (mostly complex) should supply about 55 percent of your daily calories.
Fats: Fat is critical in small amounts for certain bodily functions, but too much of it adds calories, raises cholesterol, clogs arteries and contributes to major diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Saturated fats usually come from animals (i.e., butter); unsaturated fats are generally from vegetables (i.e., corn oil). Limit your intake of saturated fats to eight percent of daily calories, and all fats to 30 percent of calories.
Proteins: Dietary protein lets your body build new tissue and fluids among other functions. Complete proteins (i.e., meat, poultry, fish, dairy products and eggs) contain all the building blocks (amino acids) your body needs. Incomplete proteins (i.e., grains, beans, seeds/nuts, vegetables and fruits) lack one or two amino acids; they must be eaten in combination to get complete proteins. Protein should total about 15 percent of your daily calories.
Vitamins: Certain bodily and metabolic functions require vitamins in very small amounts. Vitamins are measured in milligrams (mg). Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) are absorbed in fat. Water-soluble vitamins (C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 and B12) are absorbed in water. You can get the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamins by eating a variety of food sources such as dark green and yellow vegetables, saltwater fish, citrus fruits, organ meats, raisins, milk, etc.
Minerals: Your body needs certain minerals to form its structure and regulate processes. The principal minerals include calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine and selenium. You can get all of these in legumes (i.e., peas and beans). For more calcium, eat dairy products (i.e., yogurt, milk and cheese), vegetables (i.e., spinach and broccoli) and fish (i.e., sardines and salmon).
Fiber: Although fiber doesn't provide any nutrition, your body still needs it to function efficiently. Fiber comes from plant foods and passes through your body without being digested or absorbed. Insoluble fiber absorbs water and swells within your intestines, preventing constipation and controlling your appetite. It may also help digestive disorders and prevent some cancers. Soluble fiber has some of the same benefits and appears to lower cholesterol levels. To get enough fiber, try to eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables and six servings of whole grain products each day.
Water: Water is a nutrient more essential to life than food. While you can survive about 70 days without food, you'll last only 10 days without water. The body cannot make water, yet it needs water for almost every function from digestion and circulation to regulating your temperature. The water you drink is all your body gets, and it cannot store any of it. You must replace water as you eliminate it. Drink eight cups or more of water each day.
The Food Guide Pyramid
You should eat a variety of foods in moderation every day. Balancing your diet with foods from all of the essential groups gives you the nutrition you need to stay healthy and feel energized. People over the age of two can follow the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid to get nutrition without excess calories, saturated fat, cholesterol or sugar. Eat more foods from the bottom of the Pyramid (grains, fruits and vegetables) and less from the top (meat, dairy products and oil, fat and sugar).
- Foods from grains: Breads, cereals, rice and pasta give complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber, and should make up the bulk of your diet. Eat 6-11 servings of grain foods each day.
- Foods from plants: Vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and fiber and are low in fat. Fruits give you vitamins and are low in fat and sodium. Eat 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit each day.
- Foods from animals: Milk, yogurt and cheese, and meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts all provide protein, vitamins and minerals. Eat 2-3 servings from both the dairy and meat categories each day.
- Foods from fats, oils and sweets: These provide calories but not much nutrition. Eat from this category sparingly.
Most people should try to eat the least number of servings suggested.
Additional tips
- Plan your meals to include each day's supply of essential nutrients.
- Try to eat 1/4 to 1/3 of your total daily calories at breakfast.
- Bring your lunch from home or eat healthy prepackaged food.
- Try to eat a lighter meal for dinner and include more meatless dishes.
- Keep healthy foods available for snacking.
- Read labels carefully and learn portion sizes.
January 2001
Information provided by American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons
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