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Fitango EducationHealth Topics

Diet and Exercise

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Overview**Nutrition**

These days, a wealth of nutrition information is at your finger tips. From diet books to newspaper articles, everyone seems to have an opinion about what you should be eating. It's no secret that good nutrition plays an essential role in maintaining health.

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Overview**Nutrition**

While you already know it is important to eat a healthy diet, you may find it more difficult to sort through all of the information about nutrition and food choices.

**Exercise**

Regular physical activity helps improve your overall health and fitness, and reduces your risk for many chronic diseases.

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Overview**Nutrition**

Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule may seem difficult at first, but the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans are more flexible than ever, giving you the freedom to reach your physical activity goals through different types and amounts of activities each week. It's easier than you think!

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Physical Activity

Physical activity is anything that gets your body moving. According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, you need to do two types of physical activity each week to improve your health–aerobic and muscle-strengthening.For Important Health BenefitsAdults need at least:

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Physical Activity

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every week andmuscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., jogging or running) every week andmuscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdome

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Physical Activity

10 minutes at a time is fineWe know 150 minutes each week sounds like a lot of time, but you don't have to do it all at once. Not only is it best to spread your activity out during the week, but you can break it up into smaller chunks of time during the day. As long as you're doing your activity at a moderate or vigorous effort for at least 10 minutes at a time.

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Physical Activity

Give it a tryTry going for a 10-minute brisk walk, 3 times a day, 5 days a week. This will give you a total of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.

For Even Greater Health BenefitsAdults should increase their activity to:

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Physical Activity

5 hours (300 minutes) each week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity andmuscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

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Physical Activity

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) each week ofvigrous-intensity aerobic activity andmuscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

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Physical Activity

An equivalent mix of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity andmuscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

**Aerobic activity – what counts?**

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Physical Activity

Aerobic activity or "cardio" gets you breathing harder and your heart beating faster. From pushing a lawn mower, to taking a dance class, to biking to the store – all types of activities count. As long as you're doing them at a moderate or vigorous intensity for at least 10 minutes at a time.

Intensity is how hard your body is working during aerobic activity.

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Physical Activity

How do you know if you're doing light, moderate, or vigorous intensity aerobic activities?

For most people, light daily activities such as shopping, cooking, or doing the laundry doesn't count toward the guidelines. Why? Your body isn't working hard enough to get your heart rate up.

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Physical Activity

Moderate-intensity aerobic activity means you're working hard enough to raise your heart rate and break a sweat. One way to tell is that you'll be able to talk, but not sing the words to your favorite song. Here are some examples of activities that require moderate effort:

-- Walking fast

-- Doing water aerobics

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Physical Activity

-- Riding a bike on level ground or with few hills

-- Playing doubles tennis

-- Pushing a lawn mower

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Physical Activity

Vigorous-intensity aerobic activity means you're breathing hard and fast, and your heart rate has gone up quite a bit. If you're working at this level, you won't be able to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Here are some examples of activities that require vigorous effort:

-- Jogging or running

-- Swimming laps

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Physical Activity

-- Riding a bike fast or on hills

-- Playing singles tennis

-- Playing basketball

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Physical Activity

You can do moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or a mix of the two each week. A rule of thumb is that 1 minute of vigorous-intensity activity is about the same as 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.

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Physical Activity

Some people like to do vigorous types of activity because it gives them about the same health benefits in half the time. If you haven't been very active lately, increase your activity level slowly. You need to feel comfortable doing moderate-intensity activities before you move on to more vigorous ones. The guidelines are about doing physical activity that is right for you.

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Physical Activity**Muscle-strengthening activities – what counts?**

Besides aerobic activity, you need to do things to strengthen your muscles at least 2 days a week. These activities should work all the major muscle groups of your body (legs, hips, back, chest, abdomen, shoulders, and arms).

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Physical Activity**Muscle-strengthening activities – what counts?**

To gain health benefits, muscle-strengthening activities need to be done to the point where it's hard for you to do another repetition without help. A repetition is one complete movement of an activity, like lifting a weight or doing a sit-up. Try to do 8—12 repetitions per activity that count as 1 set. Try to do at least 1 set of muscle-strengthening activities, but to gain even more benefits, do 2 or 3 sets.

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Physical Activity**Muscle-strengthening activities – what counts?**

You can do activities that strengthen your muscles on the same or different days that you do aerobic activity, whatever works best. Just keep in mind that muscle-strengthening activities don't count toward your aerobic activity total.

There are many ways you can strengthen your muscles, whether it's at home or the gym. You may want to try the following:

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Physical Activity**Muscle-strengthening activities – what counts?**

-- Lifting weights

-- Working with resistance bands

-- Doing exercises that use your body weight for resistance (i.e., push ups, sit ups)

-- Heavy gardening (i.e., digging, shoveling)

-- Yoga

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Physical Activity**What if you have a disability?**

If you are an adult with a disability, regular physical activity can provide you with important health benefits, like a stronger heart, lungs, and muscles, improved mental health, and a better ability to do everyday tasks. It's best to talk with your health care provider before you begin a physical activity routine. Try to get advice from a professional with experience in physical activity and disability. They can tell you more about the amounts and types of physical activity that are appropriat

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Food Groups

Are you interested in healthy eating and having a balanced diet? If so, you'll want to learn more about food groups.You may have grown up with the "Basic 4": dairy group, meat group, grain group, and the fruits and vegetables group. As nutrition science has changed, so have these food groups.

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Food Groups**What are the basic food groups?**

Foods are grouped together when they share similar nutritional properties. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 has five food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and a protein group, which includes meat, poultry, fish, legumes and nuts.Food GroupsExamplesVegetablesThe vegetables you eat may be fresh, frozen, canned or dried and may be eaten whole, cut-up, or mashed. You should eat a variety of dark green, red and orange vegetables, as well as beans and peas (which are also consider

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Food Groups**What are the basic food groups?**

*Oils are NOT a food group, but they provide essential nutrients such as vitamin E.

**How much of each food group should I eat?**

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Food Groups**What are the basic food groups?**

The amount of food you need to eat from each group depends on your age, sex, and level of physical activity. For information about the food groups and the recommended daily amounts visit ChooseMyPlate.gov Daily Food Plans.

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Dietary Fat

What counts as fat? Are some fats better than other fats? While fats are essential for normal body function, some fats are better for you than others. Trans fats, saturated fats and cholesterol are less healthy than polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

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Dietary Fat**How much total dietary fat do I need?**

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommend that Americans keep their total fat intake within certain limits. This limit is defined as a percentage of your total calorie needs.

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Dietary Fat**How much total dietary fat do I need?**

Age GroupTotal Fat LimitsChildren ages 2 to 330% to 35% of total caloriesChildren and adolescents ages 4 to 1825% to 35% of total caloriesAdults, ages 19 and older20% to 35% of total calories

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Dietary Fat**How much total dietary fat do I need?**

You can meet this recommendation by following a healthy meal plan that meets your calorie needs and is designed to provide 20% to 35% of calories from total fat. The USDA Food Guide (My Pyramid.gov) and DASH eating plan are examples of healthy meal plans that can meet your calorie needs and provide the right amounts of fat.

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Dietary Fat**How much total dietary fat do I need?**

MyPyramid.gov lets you enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level to get a meal plan specific to your calorie needs.

DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan (PDF-980k) provides a healthy eating plan with menu examples and recipes to get you started.

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Dietary Fat**How much total dietary fat do I need?**

If you have children, you may be concerned about whether they should watch their fat intake. For proper growth, children and teens need healthy diets that provide the recommended fat intakes. Children less than 2 years of age need more calories due to rapid growth and development. For this reason, nonfat and low-fat milks are not recommended for children two years and under.

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Dietary Fat**How much total dietary fat do I need?**

Quick Q& AIf some fats are healthier than others, can I eat as much of these fats as I want?No, it's best to keep your total fat intake between 20 and 35% of your total calories each day. A healthy eating plan such as MyPyramid (link) or the DASH eating plan (link) contain between 20 and 35% of calories as fat. Check out these plans to get the right amounts of fat you need each day.

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Carbohydrates

Not sure what to think about carbohydrates these days? You've come to the right section. Here are the facts to separate the hype from the truth about carbohydrates.What are carbohydrates?Your body uses carbohydrates (carbs) to make glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going. Your body can use glucose immediately or store it in your liver and muscles for when it is needed.You can find carbohydrates in the following:

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Carbohydrates

Fruits

Vegetables

Breads, cereals, and other grains

Milk and milk products

Foods containing added sugars (e.g., cakes, cookies, and sugar-sweetened beverages).

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Carbohydrates

Healthier foods higher in carbohydrates include ones that provide dietary fiber and whole grains as well as those without added sugars. What about foods higher in carbohydrates such as sodas and candies that also contain added sugars? Those are the ones that add extra calories but not many nutrients to your diet.

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Carbohydrates

Quick Q& AI've heard there are "good" carbs and "bad" carbs? Can you provide me more information?Some diet books use "bad" carbs to talk about foods with refined carbohydrates (i.e., meaning they're made from white flour and added sugars). Examples include white bread, cakes, and cookies. "Good" carbs is used to describe foods that have more fiber and complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates that take longer to break down into glucose.These terms aren't used in the D

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Carbohydrates

What are the types of carbohydrates?There are two main types of carbohydrates:

Complex carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates

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Carbohydrates

Complex CarbohydratesStarch and dietary fiber are the two types of complex carbohydrates. Starch must be broken down through digestion before your body can use it as a glucose source. Quite a few foods contain starch and dietary fiber such as breads, cereals, and vegetables:

Starch is in certain vegetables (i.e., potatoes, dry beans, peas, and corn).

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Carbohydrates

Starch is also found in breads, cereals, and grains.

Dietary fiber is in vegetables, fruits, and whole grain foods.

Dietary FiberYou may have seen dietary fiber on the label listed as soluble fiber or insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is found in the following:

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Carbohydrates

Oatmeal

Oat bran

Nuts and seeds

Most fruits (e.g., strawberries, blueberries, pears, and apples)

Dry beans and peas

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Carbohydrates

Insoluble fiber found in the following:

Whole wheat bread

Barley

Brown rice

Couscous

Bulgur or whole grain cereals

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Carbohydrates

Wheat bran

Seeds

Most vegetables

Fruits

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Carbohydrates

Which type is best? Both! Each has important health benefits so eat a variety of these foods to get enough of both. You're also more likely to get other nutrients that you might miss if you just chose 1 or 2 high-fiber foods.

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Carbohydrates

How much dietary fiber do I need each day? It's recommended that you get 14 grams of dietary fiber for every 1,000 calories that you consume each day. If you need 2,000 calories each day, you should try to include 28 grams of dietary fiber. To find out how many calories you need each day, visit MyPyramid.gov and enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level in the My Pyramid Plan tool. Then refer to the Easy Fiber Estimator to find how many grams you need.

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Carbohydrates

At first, you may find it challenging to eat all of your daily fiber grams. Just take it slowly and try to choose higher-fiber foods more often. Over time, you'll gradually be eating more fiber!

Try these tips to jumpstart your intake of dietary fiber:

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Carbohydrates

Choose whole fruits more often than fruit juice. Fresh, frozen, or canned—it doesn't matter— they all count!

Try to eat two vegetables with your evening meal.

Keep a bowl of veggies already washed and prepared your refrigerator—try carrots, cucumbers, or celery for a quick snack.

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Carbohydrates

Make a meal around dried beans or peas (also called legumes) instead of meat.

Choose whole grain foods more often. Take a look at the "whole grains buzz words list" below to help you decide. A good guide is to make at least ½ of your grain choices be whole grains.

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Carbohydrates

Start your day with a whole grain breakfast cereal low in added sugar. Top your cereal with fruit for even more fiber. While bananas may come to your mind first, you can add even more variety by also trying sliced peaches or berries. You can often find these fruits year-round in the frozen foods section of your grocery store.

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Carbohydrates

Whole Grain "Buzz Words"The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you try to make at least half of your daily grain choices as whole grains.

You can find out if the food you are eating is made of whole grains by looking at the ingredients list of the food label. The whole grain should be the first ingredient listed. The following are some examples of how whole grains could be listed:

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Carbohydrates

buckwheat

Brown rice

bulgur (cracked wheat)

millet

wild rice

popcorn*

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Carbohydrates

quinoa

triticale

whole-grain barley

whole-grain corn

whole oats/oatmeal

whole rye

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Carbohydrates

whole wheat

*Popcorn is a whole grain that can have added fat and salt. Try air-popping your popcorn to avoid these extras. If you're buying microwave popcorn, look for a lower-fat variety. You may also want to try the snack size bag to help with portion control.

Grains Galore!Here are some explanations of less-familiar grains:

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Carbohydrates

Bulgur. A staple of Middle Eastern dishes. Bulgur wheat consists of kernels that have been steamed, dried, and crushed. It has a tender and chewy texture.

Millet. A staple grain in parts of Africa and Asia. Millet comes in several varieties and has a bland flavor that is a background to other seasonings.

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Carbohydrates

Quinoa. A grain that has been traditionally used in South American cuisine. Its texture has been compared to that of couscous.

Triticale. A grain that is a hybrid of wheat and rye. It comes in several varieties including whole berry, flakes, and flour.

Simple Carbohydrates

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Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates include sugars found naturally in foods such as fruits, vegetables milk, and milk products. Simple carbohydrates also include sugars added during food processing and refining. What's the difference? In general, foods with added sugars have fewer nutrients than foods with naturally-occurring sugars.

How can I avoid added sugars?

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Carbohydrates

One way to avoid these sugars is to read the ingredient lists on food labels.

Look for these ingredients as added sugars:

Brown sugar

Corn sweetener

Corn syrup

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Carbohydrates

Dextrose

Fructose

Fruit juice concentrates

Glucose

High-fructose corn syrup

Honey

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Carbohydrates

Invert sugar

Lactose

Maltose

Malt Syrup

Molasses

Raw sugar

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Carbohydrates

Sucrose

Sugar

Syrup

--

If you see any of these in the ingredient list, you know the food has added sugars. The closer to the top of the list, the more of that sugar is in the food.

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Carbohydrates

You can learn more about sugars on the food label by visiting How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label.

Other tips for avoiding added sugars include—

Choose water instead of sugar-sweetened sodas.

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Carbohydrates

Choose 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) of 100% fruit juice rather than a fruit drink.

Have a piece of fruit for dessert and skip desserts with added sugar.

Choose breakfast cereals that contain no or less added sugars.

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Carbohydrates

If you want to learn more about avoiding added sugar in what you drink, check out Re-think your Drink.

You probably already know sugars and starches can play a role in causing cavities. But it's worth mentioning again, particularly as far as kids are concerned. Be sure to also brush, floss, and drink fluoridated water to help prevent cavities.

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Carbohydrates

How much carbohydrate do I need?Your best approach is to follow a meal plan that gives you 45% to 65% of the calories as carbohydrates. How do you do this? Check out these two meal plans: MyPyramid.gov or DASH eating plan. Both of these can give you the calories you need and the right amounts of carbohydrate.

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Carbohydrates

MyPyramid.gov lets you enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level to get a meal plan specific to your calorie needs.

DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan (PDF-980k) provides a healthy eating plan with menu examples and recipes to get you started.

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Carbohydrates

HHS Health Facts: Choose Carbohydrates Wisely (PDF-96k) explains why It's important to choose carbohydrates wisely.

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Protein

What do you think about when you hear the word protein? Maybe it's an ad for some protein shake that promises massive muscles? Or is it the last high-protein diet craze you read about? With all this talk about protein, you might think Americans were at risk for not eating enough. In fact, most of us eat more protein than we need.

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Protein

Protein is in many foods that we eat on a regular basis.This section will help you learn more about protein. You'll find information about what foods have protein and what happens when we eat more protein than we need. **

**What is Protein?**

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Protein

Proteins are part of every cell, tissue, and organ in our bodies. These body proteins are constantly being broken down and replaced. The protein in the foods we eat is digested into amino acids that are later used to replace these proteins in our bodies.Protein is found in the following foods:

-- meats, poultry, and fish

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Protein

-- legumes (dry beans and peas)

-- tofu

-- eggs

-- nuts and seeds

-- milk and milk products

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Protein

-- grains, some vegetables, and some fruits (provide only small amounts of protein relative to other sources)

As we mentioned, most adults in the United States get more than enough protein to meet their needs. It's rare for someone who is healthy and eating a varied diet to not get enough protein.

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

Proteins are made up of amino acids. Think of amino acids as the building blocks. There are 20 different amino acids that join together to make all types of protein. Some of these amino acids can't be made by our bodies, so these are known as essential amino acids. It's essential that our diet provide these. In the diet, protein sources are labeled according to how many of the essential amino acids they provide:

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

-- A complete protein source is one that provides all of the essential amino acids. You may also hear these sources called high quality proteins. Animal-based foods; for example, meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese are considered complete protein sources.

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

-- An incomplete protein source is one that is low in one or more of the essential amino acids.Complementary proteins are two or more incomplete protein sources that together provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids.

--

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

For example, rice contains low amounts of certain essential amino acids; however, these same essential amino acids are found in greater amounts in dry beans. Similarly, dry beans contain lower amounts of other essential amino acids that can be found in larger amounts in rice. Together, these two foods can provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids the body needs.

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

Quick Q& AIs it true that complementary proteins must be eaten together to count as a complete protein source?In the past, it was thought that these complementary proteins needed to be eaten at the same meal for your body to use them together. Now studies show that your body can combine complementary proteins that are eaten within the same day.

**How much protein do I need?**

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

Maybe you've wondered how much protein you need each day. In general, it's recommended that 10–35% of your daily calories come from protein.

Here are examples of amounts of protein in food:

1 cup of milk has 8 grams of protein

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

A 3-ounce piece of meat has about 21 grams of protein

1 cup of dry beans has about 16 grams of protein

An 8-ounce container of yogurt has about 11 grams of protein

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Protein**What are the types of protein?**

Added together, just these four sources would meet the protein needs of an adult male (56 grams). This doesn't count all the other foods that add smaller amounts of protein to his diet.Rather than just focusing on your protein needs, choose an overall healthy eating plan that provides the protein you need as well as other nutrients.

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Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are organic substances (made by plants or animals), minerals are inorganic elements that come from the earth; soil and water and are absorbed by plants. Animals and humans absorb minerals from the plants they eat. Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that your body needs to grow and develop normally.

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Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals, have a unique role to play in maintaining your health. For example Vitamin D helps your body absorb the amount of calcium (a mineral) it needs to form strong bones. A deficiency in vitamin D can result in a disease called rickets (softening of the bones caused by the bodies inability to absorb the mineral calcium.) The body cannot produce calcium; therefore, it must be absorbed through our food. Other minerals like chromium, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc are cal

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Fruits and Vegetables

"Eat your fruits and vegetables." You've likely heard this statement since childhood. Research shows why it is good advice:

Healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.

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Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables also provide essential vitamins and minerals, fiber, and other substances that are important for good health.

Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and are filling.

Not sure how many fruits and vegetables you should be eating each day?

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Fruits and Vegetables

Visit the Fruit and Vegetable Calculator. Here you can calculate your fruit and vegetable recommendations based on your calorie needs for your age, sex, and activity level. This site also has helpful tips and photographs of 1/2 cup and 1 cup fruit and vegetable examples.

Want to know the amount of each food group you need daily? Visit: MyPlate Daily Food Plan to find out and receive a customized Daily Food Plan.

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Fruits and Vegetables

Curious as to whether fruits and vegetables can help you manage your weight?

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Fruits and Vegetables

Take a look at this How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Help Manage your Weight brochure and learn about fruits and vegetables and their role in your weight management plan. Tips to cut calories by substituting fruits and vegetables are included with meal-by-meal examples. You will also find snack ideas that are 100 calories or less. With these helpful tips, you will soon be on your way to adding more fruits and vegetables into your healthy eating plan.