what foods can you eat to meet your nutritional value

Making smart food choices is an of import part of healthy crumbling. Understanding the different food groups — and how much of each should make up your diet — can help you form a good for you eating pattern over time. This article describes the primary food groups and other important nutrients recommended for older adults in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (PDF, thirty.6M). Nosotros too provide suggestions for how to fit occasional treats into your healthy eating pattern.

Information technology is of import to get the recommended corporeality of each food group without going over your daily recommended calories. Keep in heed that the corporeality you should eat to maintain your weight depends on your age, sex, and level of physical activity.

Main food groups

Vegetables

Vegetables come in a wide multifariousness of colors, flavors, and textures. They contain vitamins and minerals, carbohydrates, and are an important source of fiber. The vegetable food group includes night green vegetables, scarlet and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, and legumes (beans and peas).

Dark green vegetables include broccoli, collard greens, spinach, and kale. Cherry and orange vegetables include acorn squash, carrots, pumpkin, tomato, and sweet potato. Starchy vegetables include corn, dark-green peas, and white potatoes. Other vegetables include eggplant, beets, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, celery, artichokes, green beans, and onions. Legumes include black beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), kidney beans, soybeans, and tofu. Legumes can besides be counted in the poly peptide foods group.

1/2 cup-equivalent of vegetables equals:

See more than foods in the vegetable group.

Fruits

Fruits bring colour, flavor, and of import nutrients to your diet. At that place are so many choices — citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits; unlike kinds of berries; fruits that abound on copse, such every bit apricots, cherries, peaches, and mangoes; and others similar figs, grapes, and pineapples.

According to the Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 30.6M), older Americans generally do non eat enough fruit. Adding more than fruit to your diet can have pregnant benefits for overall health. Fruits, like vegetables, comprise carbohydrates and provide extra cobweb that helps go on your digestive arrangement moving. For even more cobweb, eat fruits with the skin on — only make sure you wash all fruits thoroughly earlier eating. Although 100% fruit juice also counts toward this category, at least half of the fruits you eat should exist whole fruits. When purchasing frozen, canned, or stale fruit, choose options that are lowest in added sugars.

1/2 loving cup-equivalent of fruit equals:

Run across more foods in the fruit group.

Grains

Any food fabricated from wheat, rye, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or other cereal grain is a grain product. This includes bread and pasta, breakfast cereal, grits, tortillas, and fifty-fifty popcorn. Grains — along with fruits, vegetables, and dairy — incorporate carbohydrates, the body'southward main source of energy.

Read food labels to find grain choices that are low in saturated fatty and added sugar. Be especially wary of options labeled "low-fat," which can exist high in added saccharide.

At to the lowest degree half the grain foods you lot eat should be whole grains. Whole grains provide iron and many B vitamins, and they have fiber, as well. Examples of whole grains include whole wheat, whole oats, whole bulgur (also known as cracked wheat), and whole cornmeal.

Some grain products are refined, which gives them a finer texture and a longer shelf life but removes fiber and nutrients. Most refined grains are enriched, which means that some nutrients are added dorsum subsequently processing. Examples of refined grain products include white flour, degermed cornmeal, white staff of life, and white rice.

i ounce-equivalent of grain equals:

See more foods in the grain group.

Protein foods

Proteins are ofttimes called the torso'southward building blocks. They are used to build and repair tissues, and also help your torso fight infection. Your body uses extra protein for free energy. Older adults should try to eat a variety of nutrient-dumbo proteins. Cull lean (low-fat) meats and poultry. Go along in mind that you tin can also go protein from seafood, eggs, beans, nuts, seeds, and soy products. Protein from plant sources tends to be lower in saturated fat, contains no cholesterol, and provides fiber and other health-promoting nutrients. Institute sources of protein, such equally nuts and seeds, have different nutritional value than plant-based meat alternatives, which can be heavily processed and high in sodium.

The Dietary Guidelines (PDF, 30.6M) recommend that you eat 8 to 10 ounces per week of a variety of seafood, not simply for the protein but also because seafood contains omega-three fatty acids, such as EPA and DHA, which are good for your heart. Seafoods that are higher in EPA and DHA include salmon, anchovies, and trout. These seafoods are also lower in mercury, which can be harmful, than other types of seafood.

1 ounce-equivalent equals:

See more than foods in the protein group.

Dairy

Consuming dairy helps older adults maintain potent basic and provides several vital nutrients, including calcium, potassium, and vitamin D. For your centre wellness, pick from the many low-fat or fatty-gratuitous choices in the dairy group. These give yous important vitamins and minerals, with less fat. Sure fortified dairy alternatives tin can provide like nutritional content to dairy.

1 cup-equivalent of dairy equals:

Run into more foods in the dairy group.

Other foods

Some foods are non in any of the master food groups. These include oils, which tin can be eaten regularly as role of a healthy nutrition, every bit well equally unhealthy fats, sugars, and calories from drinks, which should only be consumed occasionally. There is no recommended daily intake amount in cups or ounces for these products. Limiting the calories you eat from this category can help keep your healthy eating habits on track.

Oils & solid fats

Oils are high in calories, but they are also an important source of nutrients like vitamin E. For older adults, the daily allowance of oils ranges from 5 to viii teaspoons, depending on activity level. Oils contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are healthy fats that give you free energy and help the body absorb certain vitamins.

Measuring your daily oils tin can be tricky — knowing what yous add while cooking or baking is one thing, but oil is naturally a office of some foods.

Teaspoons of oil:

See more oil equivalents.

In general, try to use oils instead of solid fats, such as butter or lard, which are high in saturated fatty. Saturated fats occur naturally in some foods, only they are too added to foods such as baked goods and murphy chips. To lower the saturated fat in your nutrition, eat depression-fat or fat-free dairy products, cull cuts of meat with less fatty, and remove the skin from craven. Reading the Nutrition Facts label can help yous continue track of how much saturated fatty y'all eat.

You should also keep trans fat intake as low as possible. Trans fats are harmful, and although they are being phased out of many products, they can yet be found in some processed foods, such as microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, margarine, and coffee creamer.

Added sugars

Limit the consumption of foods loftier in added sugar, which include sweetened cereals, highly candy snack foods such as cookies and cakes, dairy desserts, and many items marketed every bit low-fat. Read the ingredient list to come across if the nutrient y'all are eating has added sugar. Some cardinal words to look for: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup.

Beverages

Although many beverages can be role of a salubrious eating pattern, some add calories without adding nutritional value and y'all should avoid them. Beverages that are calorie-free — especially water — or that contribute beneficial nutrients, such every bit fat-free and low-fatty milk and 100% juice, should be the main beverages yous consume.

Coffee and tea. Drinking coffee or tea barely provides whatsoever calories unless you lot add together sugar or foam, which are not nutrient-dense and should be consumed in moderation. Be cautious when ordering drinks from java shops because these are often loaded with extra sugars and fats.

Sweetened beverages. Examples of beverages that often take added sugars are soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened waters. Virtually sweetened beverages do not contribute to meeting food group goals and often incorporate a high number of calories.

Alcohol. Alcohol is not nutrient-dense and is not part of the salubrious eating patterns recommended in the Dietary Guidelines. If you lot consume booze, do and so in moderation, defined every bit ane potable or less per day for women and 2 drinks or less per day for men.

Calories from sugars, saturated and trans fats, and drinks tin add together upwards quickly. As these foods provide no nutritional benefit, they should only be consumed on occasion and in limited amounts.

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For more than information on salubrious eating

This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

Content reviewed: February 25, 2022

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Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/healthy-eating-you-age-know-your-food-groups

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