Dietary Guidelines

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans reflect up-to-date scientific knowledge and advice for choosing a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, getting enough physical activity, and keeping food safe to avoid foodborne illness. By following the guidelines, you may reduce risk factors that lead to many chronic diseases.

Developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Dietary Guidelines present recommendations for all healthy Americans ages two and over.

Updated every five years, these 2005 Dietary Guidelines offer the most current, science-based advice, reflecting what we know now. Nutrition is, after all, a dynamic science: we're always learning more.

To improve one's nutrient profile, the Dietary guidelines advise:

• Eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the food groups (including more dark-green vegetables, orange vegetables, legumes, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat milk and milk products.

• Limit foods with saturated fat, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol.

Why variety? Different food groups-and the nutrients and other substances their food provide-help keep you healthy in different ways. No one nutrient, food, or food group has all you need, and none works alone.

The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, an organization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was established in 1994 to improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. One of the objectives is to support the MyPyramid Food Guidance System.

When using the MyPyramid Plan, one size doesn't fit all. MyPyramid plan located at mypyramid.gov offers you a personal eating plan with the foods and amounts that are right for you. MyPyramid Plan allows you learn about the amounts of each food group you need daily based on your age, sex, weight, height, and physical activity.

It's common knowledge: many Americans fall short on their nutrition report card! The problem is we all lead busy lives. Between jobs, kids, and all the stresses of life, we simply don't make the time to eat as healthily as we know we should.

That's why food supplements have experienced such incredible demand. A whole food supplement is a product in which only the healthiest of foods are compressed and then encapsulated.

If you truly do want the health benefits of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains then you should look into whole food supplements.

Much more than dietary guidelines discussed back at the Home Page