Making Nutrient-Dense Food Choices for Healthy Living

Making Nutrient-Dense Choices: One Food or Beverage At a Time
After studying Nutrition Program, I have been trying to help family, friends & community around me to make healthy food choices. Every food and beverage choice is an opportunity to move toward a healthy dietary pattern. Small changes in single choices add up and can make a big difference. These are a few examples of realistic, small changes to nutrient- dense choices that can help people adopt healthy dietary patterns.
In some cases, when meeting nutrient needs is not otherwise possible, fortified foods and nutrient-containing dietary supplements are useful. It is important to note that the nutrient density and healthfulness of what people eat and drink often is determined ultimately by how a food item, dish, or meal is prepared, at home and away from home or produced by a manufacturer. Based on the U.S. food supply and marketplace, the examples of healthy dietary patterns in this edition are achievable through thoughtful, informed choices one decision, one meal, one day at a time—and consistently over time.
Enjoy different foods and beverages within each food group. This can help meet nutrient needs—and also allows for flexibility so that the Dietary Guidelines can be tailored to meet cultural and personal preferences.

Are you ready to transform your health journey? WhatsApp me [Serious inquiries only] for the program cost & requirements.All forms of foods, including fresh, dried, frozen, and 100% juices, in nutrient-dense forms, can be included in healthy dietary patterns. Customize and Enjoy Food and Beverage Choices to Reflect Personal Preferences, Cultural Traditions, and Budgetary Considerations.
Portion size is a term often used to describe the amount of a food or beverage served or consumed in one eating occasion. It is important to pay attention to portion size when making food and beverage choices, particularly for foods and beverages that are not nutrient-dense. A concept that can help people choose appropriate portions is serving size. This term is included on the Nutrition Facts label and refers to the amount of a food or beverage that is customarily consumed—it is not a recommendation
of how much to eat or drink. Consuming less than the stated serving size results in consuming fewer calories and other nutrients or food components. Some products may have multiple servings per package.

The examples below are a sample of the range of options in each food group—to be eaten in nutrient- dense forms.

Vegetables

Healthy dietary patterns include a variety of vegetables
from all five vegetable subgroups—dark green; red and orange; beans, peas, and lentils; starchy; and other. These include
all fresh, frozen, canned, and dried options in cooked or raw forms, including 100% vegetable juices. Vegetables in their nutrient-dense forms have limited additions such as salt, butter, or creamy sauces.

• Dark-Green Vegetables: All fresh, frozen, and canned dark- green leafy vegetables and broccoli, cooked or raw: for example, amaranth leaves, bok choy, broccoli, chamnamul, chard, collards, kale, mustard greens, poke greens, romaine lettuce, spinach, taro leaves, turnip greens, and watercress.
• Red and Orange Vegetables: All fresh, frozen, and canned red and orange vegetables or juice, cooked or raw: for example, calabaza, carrots, red or orange bell peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, 100% tomato juice, and winter squash.
• Beans, Peas, Lentils: All cooked from dry or canned beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils: for example, black beans, black-eyed peas, bayo beans, chickpeas (garbanzo beans), edamame, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, mung beans, pigeon peas, pinto beans, and split peas. Does not include green beans or green peas.
• Starchy Vegetables: All fresh, frozen, and canned starchy vegetables: for example, breadfruit, burdock root, cassava, corn, jicama, lotus root, lima beans, plantains, white potatoes, salsify, taro root (dasheen or yautia), water chestnuts, yam, and yucca.
• Other Vegetables: All other fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables, cooked or raw: for example, asparagus, avocado, bamboo shoots, beets, bitter melon, Brussels sprouts, cabbage (green, red, napa, savoy), cactus pads (nopales), cauliflower, celery, chayote (mirliton), cucumber, eggplant, green beans, kohlrabi, luffa, mushrooms, okra, onions, radish, rutabaga, seaweed, snow peas, summer squash, tomatillos, and turnips.
Fruits

The fruit food group includes whole fruits and 100% fruit juice. Whole fruits include fresh, canned, frozen, and dried forms. Whole fruits can be eaten in various forms, such as cut, sliced, diced, or cubed. At least half of the recommended amount of fruit should come from whole fruit, rather than 100% juice. When juices are consumed, they should be 100% juice and always pasteurized or 100% juice diluted with water (without added sugars).Also, when selecting canned fruit, choose options
that are canned with 100% juice or options lowest in added sugars.

• All fresh, frozen, canned, and dried fruits and 100% fruit juices: for example, apples, Asian pears, bananas, berries (e.g., blackberries, blueberries, currants, huckleberries, kiwifruit, mulberries, raspberries, and strawberries); citrus fruit (e.g., calamondin, grapefruit, lemons, limes, oranges, and pomelos); cherries, dates, figs, grapes, guava, jackfruit, lychee, mangoes, melons (e.g., cantaloupe, casaba, honeydew, and watermelon); nectarines, papaya, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapple, plums, pomegranates, raisins, rhubarb, sapote, and soursop.
Grains

Healthy dietary patterns include whole grains and limit the intake of refined grains. At least half of total grains should be whole grains. Individuals who eat refined grains should choose enriched grains. Individuals who consume all of their grains as whole grains should include some that have been fortified with folic acid. Grain-based foods in nutrient-dense forms limit the additions of added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium.
A food is a 100% whole-grain food if the only grains
it contains are whole grains. A 1 ounce-equivalent of 100% whole grains has 16 grams of whole grains. The recommendation to consume at least half of total grains as whole grains can be met in a number of ways.
• Choose100%whole-grainfoodsforatleasthalfofall grains consumed. The relative amount of whole grain in the food can be inferred by the placement of the grain in the ingredient list. The whole grain should be the first ingredient—or the second ingredient after water. For foods with multiple whole-grain ingredients, they should appear near the beginning of the ingredient list.

• Whole grains: All whole-grain products and whole grains used as ingredients: for example, amaranth, barley (not pearled), brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, oats, popcorn, quinoa, dark rye, whole-grain cornmeal, whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat chapati, whole-grain cereals and crackers, and wild rice.
• Refined grains: All refined-grain products and refined grains used as ingredients: for example, white breads, refined-grain cereals and crackers, corn grits, cream of rice, cream of wheat, barley (pearled), masa, pasta, and white rice. Refined- grain choices should be enriched.
Dairy and Fortified Soy Alternatives
• All fluid, dry, or evaporated milk, including lactose-free and lactose-reduced products and fortified soy beverages (soy milk), buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, frozen yogurt, dairy desserts, and cheeses. Most choices should be fat-free or low-fat. Cream, sour cream, and cream cheese are not included due to their low calcium content.
Protein Foods

Protein Foods

A healthy vegetarian dietary pattern can be achieved by incorporating protein foods from plants. Compared with the Healthy U.S.-Style Dietary Pattern, the Healthy Vegetarian Dietary Pattern is higher in soy products (particularly tofu and other processed soy products); beans, peas, and lentils; nuts and seeds; and whole grains. Inclusion of dairy and eggs make this an example of a lacto-ovo vegetarian pattern. Meats, poultry, and seafood are not included.

• Beans, Lentils, Nuts, Seeds, Soy Products: Nuts and seeds include all nuts (tree nuts and peanuts), nut butters, seeds (e.g., chia, flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower), and seed butters (e.g., sesame or tahini and sunflower). Legumes, Soy includes tofu, tempeh, and products made from soy flour, soy protein isolate, and soy concentrate. Nuts should be unsalted.
Oils are important to consider as part of a healthy dietary pattern as they provide essential fatty acids. Commonly consumed oils include canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower oils. Oils also are naturally present in nuts, seeds, seafood, olives, and avocados. The fat in some tropical plants, such as coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and palm oil, are not included in the oils category because they contain a higher percentage of saturated fat than do other oils.

Strategies to shift intake include cooking with Nut/seed oil in place of fats high in saturated fat, including butter, shortening, lard, or coconut oil. However, some foods, such as desserts and sweet snacks, that are prepared with oils instead of fats high in saturated fat are still high in added sugars, and are thus not a nutrient-dense food choice.
Beverages

When choosing beverages in a healthy dietary pattern, both the calories and nutrients that they provide are important considerations. Beverages that are calorie-free—especially water—or that contribute beneficial nutrients, such as fat-free and low-fat milk and 100% juice, should be the primary beverages consumed. Coffee, tea, and flavored waters also are options, but the most nutrient-dense options for these beverages include little, if any, sweeteners or cream.
CAFFEINE
Caffeine is a dietary component that functions in the body as a stimulant. Most intake of caffeine in the United States comes from coffee, tea, and soda. For healthy adults, the FDA has cited 400 milligrams a day—that’s about four or five cups of coffee—as an amount not generally associated with dangerous, negative effects.

Making Healthy Choices: One Day At a Time

Small changes to more nutrient-dense, single food and beverage choices that, when combined, become a nutrient- dense meal, can lead to a whole day made up of nutrient-dense meals and snacks. The following example, which comes in under 2,000 calories, shows how people can make thoughtful choices that meet their food group needs, stay within limits, and, importantly, that they can enjoy.