NUTRITION GUIDELINES

Chapter 4

OBJECTIVE: Discuss how the Recommended Dietary

Allowances (RDAs) and Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are used.

Summarize the advice offered in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Identify the recommended number of daily portions and portion sizes for each food group.

OBJECTIVES: Use percent Daily Values on food labels

to evaluate a food’s contributions to daily nutrient needs.

Describe how to evaluate a food’s nutrient density.

Collect and analyze data about your current eating habits to evaluate your personal nutrient needs.

DIETARY REFERENCE

INTAKESTools for planning a healthful diet

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO KNOW MAXIMUM AS WELL AS MINIMUM RECOMMENDED LEVELS FOR NUTRIENT INTAKE?

They are used to assess and plan diets for healthy people.

Some individuals may need more, some less due to health, age and other individual concerns.

A lack or deficiency of a nutrient can lead to various diseases but having too much can be just as harmful leading to toxicity.

That’s why experts feel that it is best to get most of your nutrient intake through eating healthy foods on a daily basis.

Why are ULs (Upper Tolerable Intake Levels) not set for all nutrients?Not enough information has been established to set ULs for all nutrients.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE SECTION ENTITLED RECOMMENDED NUTRIENT INTAKES

Find the following information: (Appendix B, page 466) What amount of iron is needed by a 14 to 18

year old female? Male? What is the unit used to measure vitamin C? What groups need to most calcium per day? How much fiber should be consumed by a 7

to 12 month old child? What is the unit of measure for energy? How many calories should an 18 year old

male have per day? Female?

TAKE A LOOK AT THE SECTION ENTITLED RECOMMENDED NUTRIENT INTAKES

Find the following information: (Appendix B, page 466). What amount of iron is needed by a 14 to 18 year

old female? 15 mg/day Male? 11mg/day What is the unit used to measure vitamin C? mg/day What groups need to most calcium per day? Males

and females during the teen years, pregnant and nursing teens.

How much fiber should be consumed by a 7 to 12 month old child? Not determined.

What is the unit of measure for energy? Calories/day

How many calories should an 18 year old male have per day? 3,152 Female? 2,368

IF YOU WERE A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL, WHAT ADVANTAGES WOULD YOU FIND IN USING THE OLD RDAS TO EVALUATE DIETS?

RDAs are suggested levels of nutrient intake to meet the needs of most healthy people.

It includes recommendations energy needs.

Simpler to follow because it is just one standard instead of four.

What advantages would you find in using the newer DRIs?

DRIs include four types of nutrient reference standards:Estimated Average RequirementsAdequate IntakeUpper Tolerable Intake LevelsRecommended Dietary Allowances

More precise measurements of diet evaluation

DIETARY GUIDELINES

FOR AMERICANSTools for Planning a Healthful Diet

WHAT ARE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TYPICAL U.S. DIET THAT MAKE IT UNHEALTHY?

American diets are typically high in fat, cholesterol and sugar.

American diets are too low in the nutrient found in whole grains, vegetables and fruits.

Eating habits such as these can be linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and liver disease.

DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS The Dietary Guidelines for Americans are

intended for the general population of the United States

Following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans can help people attain excellent health.

The guidelines are interrelated and are a guide to help Americans eat healthy and stay fit.

An individual that makes the decision to just follow these guidelines will make a huge impact on his/her health and wellness levels.

Make Smart Choices from Every Food GroupFocus on FruitVary your veggiesGet your calcium-rich foodsMake half your grains wholeGo lean on protein

WHAT ARE THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS?

FIND YOUR BALANCE BETWEEN FOOD AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

Be physically active each day

Include conditioning and resistance exercises

Balance calories from food with calories burned during exercise

Reduce free time spent being inactive

GET THE MOST NUTRITION OUT OF YOUR CALORIES

Select nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories

Choose foods that are lean, low-fat or fat-free

Use food labels to guide your choices

Reduce salt and added sugars

FINALLY TO SUM UP THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS: Think about three basic words:Variety – Include many different

types of foods in your eating plan.Moderation – Avoid over eating

any one type of foodBalance – Select foods lower in

salt, sugars, fats, cholesterol and calories.

ASSIGNMENTVariety, moderation and balance

• Write a set of sentences, each beginning with a different letter of the 3 words.

• Each sentence should offer a tip or describe a benefit associated with the Dietary Guidelines.

JOURNAL: Which of the Dietary Guidelines is most

closely related to ways in which you personally need to improve your dietary habits? What steps do you need to take or have taken to make those improvements?

PORTION SIZETools for Planning a Healthful Diet

PORTION SIZE Portion size is a unit of measured food.

PORTION SIZE

Is probably one of the biggest reasons we go wrong in our eating because we really do not take the time to figure out what a true portion looks like.

Eating out doesn’t help to establish serving size because of the big portions restaurants serve

PORTION SIZE The best way to know what a true serving looks like is to weigh and measure our food or be able to estimate what a serving of a certain food looks like.

HOW CAN WE ESTIMATE A SERVING SIZE? A 3 ounce serving of meat is the size of

a deck of cards or the palm of your hand.

A small serving of a side dish such as coleslaw or mash potatoes is about the size of a computer mouse.

A cup of rice or pasta would be about the size of a tennis ball or your fist.

HOW CAN WE ESTIMATE A SERVING SIZE? (CONTINUES) For salad dressing or other condiments a

tablespoon is about the size of the tip of your thumb to the first joint

For a teaspoon use the tip of your pinky to that first joint.

WHY IS PORTION SIZE IMPORTANT? So we don’t overeat. It is a good idea to evaluate your

portion size on a regular basis to make sure you are eating the right amount and not overindulging!

10 LITTLE SECRETS OF PORTION CONTROL

According to the October 2009 issue Cooking Light Magazine, overeating is all in your mind and offers the following advice for portion control.

#1: BEFORE EATING, DIVIDE THE PLATE Divide your plate in half. Automatically fill one side with fruits or

vegetables, leaving the rest for equal parts protein and starch.

This way, you can visually begin to see what a properly balanced meal looks like.

#2: PRE-PORTION TEMPTING TREATS The bigger the package, the more food

you’ll pour out of it. When two groups were given half or 1-

pound bags of M&Ms to eat while watching TV, those given the 1-pound bag ate nearly twice as much.

#3: HEAD OFF THE MINDLESS MUNCH Five minutes after eating at an Italian

restaurant, 31% of people could not remember how much bread they ate!

If you worry you might do the same, have the bread removed from the table.

#4: DOWNSIZE YOUR DISHES 54% of Americans eat until their plates

are clean. So if you’re on the these Americans

make sure your plates are modestly sized.

On a standard 8 to 10 inch dinner plate, a portion of spaghetti looks like a meal.

However on a 12 to 14 inch plate, it looks meager, so you’re likely to dish out a bigger portion to fill the plate.

#5: LIMIT YOUR CHOICES

The more options you have the more you want to try.

#6: USE YOUR POWER FOR GOOD Most homes have a “nutritional

gatekeeper” who controls 72% of the food eaten by everyone else.

The person who chooses food, buys it, and prepares it wields power.

If that’s you, take advantage of it.

#7: AVOID A SEE-FOOD DIET Office workers who kept candy in clear

dishes on their desks dipped in for a sample 71% more often than those who kept their candy out of sight.

#8: TURN OFF THE TV! TV distracts you from how much you’re eating and the more you watch, the more you’re likely to eat.

#9: THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK Pour juice into two glasses of equal

volume: one short and wide, the other tall and thin.

Most people pour 19% more juice in the short glass because the eye is a poor judge of volume in relation to height and width.

#10: SERVE GOOD FOR YOU FOODS FAMILY-STYLE Finally, not all portion-control strategies

are about eating less. You can have as much as want of some

foods. Place the foods you want your family to

eat more of – salads and vegetable sides – with in easy reach on the dining table.

THE DAILY VALUES ON

FOOD LABELSTools for Planning Healthful Diets

The percent Daily Values of the item is 10% for total carbohydrates and 20% for total fat.

Can you explain what these totals mean?

• Daily Values are recommended nutrient intakes based on daily calorie needs.

• The amounts of nutrients in a serving of a food are expressed as a percentage of these Daily Values a person should consume.

• There is not enough room on a food label to list all the nutritional information for every age range and sex.

• The Daily Values for carbohydrates, fat and protein used as references on food labels are based on a 2,000~calorie diet.

•The percent Daily Values are listed for the major nutrients to the health of today’s consumer – fat, saturated fat, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber vitamin A and C, calcium and iron.

•In theory, the combination of foods you eat throughout the day should add up to 100% for each of the nutrients listed on food labels.

Labels are also good to compare the nutrient content of different brands and products.

NUTRIENT DENSITY

Tools for Planning Healthful Diets

WHAT IS “NUTRIENT DENSITY”? Refers to a comparison of the nutrients

provided by a food with the calories provided by the food.

It is an evaluation of the nutritional quality of a food.

It is important to note that a food can have a low density for some nutrients and a high density in others. This is why it is important to eat a variety of foods.

USING FOOD RECOMMENDATI

ONS AND GUIDELINES

PROBLEM SOLVE…. Darryl is keeping a food diary and plans

to analyze and improve his eating habits. He decides to start the diary on Friday and run throughout the week of spring break. He intends to record what he has eaten each night before he goes to bed.

What advice would you give Darryl to make his efforts more productive?

WHAT IS A FOOD DIARY? A record of the kinds and amounts of foods and beverages consumed for a given time.

Including snacks and even condiments.

RECORDING WHAT YOU EAT… If you want a true analysis of

your diet you need to track what you eat and it is best to record as you eat.

Don’t wait to long! If you wait and record everything

at the end of the day it is easy to forget foods.

NEXT ACCURATELY ESTIMATE PORTION SIZE… Weigh and measure to get an

accurate idea about portion size. It is a good idea to weigh and

measure periodically to assure you are eating the right amount and not over estimating portion size.

RECORD WHAT YOU EAT FOR SEVERAL DAYS… Make sure your diary reflects a

typical time. It is not good to start your diary

around special events, holidays, birthdays, or a time that does not show your typical eating patterns.

AFTER TRACKING YOUR EATING PATTERNS, THE NEXT STEP IS TO ANALYZE YOUR DIET…

Can be done by using the information recorded in your food diary to see if you are meeting your daily nutrient requirements.

There are software programs that can help you to analyze your diet, but you can also analyze your diet without computer programs.

TO DO THIS FOLLOW THESE TIPS: Make a chart with columns for the food you

ate, calories and all the major nutrients. List the foods recorded in your food diary

in the first column. Look up each food in the food composition

tables with are the “Nutritive Values of Foods”, in you text it is Appendix C.

Then total the amounts in all the nutrient columns and compare the totals to the RDAs and DRIs.