NUTRITION

Nutrition

Better nutrition means stronger immune systems, less illness and better health. Better nutrition is a prime entry point to ending poverty and a milestone to achieving better quality of life. Nutrition is an input to and foundation for health and development. Interaction of infection and malnutrition is well-documented. Healthy people are stronger, are more productive and more able to create opportunities to gradually break the cycles of both poverty and hunger in a sustainable way.

Food nourishes the body and gives us energy to get through each day. Healthy eating is fundamental to good health and is a key element in healthy human development, from the prenatal and early childhood years to later life stages. Healthy eating is equally important in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases. The most important determinants of good health are what we eat and how active we are.

Eat a plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; choose healthy fats, like olive and canola oil; and red meat and unhealthy fats, like saturated and trans fats, sparingly. Most important of all is keeping calories in check, so you can avoid weight gain, which makes exercise a key partner to a healthy diet.

EIGHT WAYS OF EATING RIGHT

Choose good carbs, not no carbs. Whole grains are your best bet. Pay attention to the protein package. Fish, poultry, nuts, and beans are the best choices. Choose healthy fats, limit saturated fat, and avoid trans fat. Plant oils, nuts, and fish are the healthiest sources. Choose a fiber-filled diet, rich in whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Eat more vegetables and fruits. Go for color and variety—dark green, yellow, orange, and red. Calcium is important. But milk isn't the only, or even best, source. Moderate drinking can be healthy—but not for everyone. You must weigh the benefits and risks. A daily multivitamin is a great nutrition insurance policy. Some extra vitamin D may add an extra health boost.
HEALTHY EATING PYRAMID

The Health Eating Pyramid is a simple, trustworthy guide to choosing a healthy diet. Its foundation is daily exercise and weight control, since these two related elements strongly influence your chances of staying healthy.

1. Start with exercise. A healthy diet is built on a base of regular exercise, which keeps calories in balance and weight in check.

2. Focus on food, not grams. The Healthy Eating Pyramid doesn’t worry about specific servings or grams of food, so neither should you. It’s a simple, general guide to how you should eat when you eat.

3. Go with plants. Eating a plant-based diet is healthiest. Choose plenty of vegetables, fruits,

whole grains, and healthy fats, like olive and canola oil.

4. Cut way back on American staples. Red meat, refined grains, potatoes, sugary drinks, and salty snacks are part of American culture, but they’re also really unhealthy. Go for a plant-based diet rich in non-starchy vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. And if you eat meat, fish and poultry are the best choices.

5. Take a multivitamin, and maybe have a drink. Taking a multivitamin can be a good nutrition insurance policy. Moderate drinking for many people can have real health benefits, but it's not for everyone. Those who don’t drink shouldn’t feel that they need to start.