They say your body is the most important thing you own, so you need to take care of it. The main focus of this blog is to address the things that are ideal for true fitness and to debunk the bull that serves as a money-making red herring. In this post, I will be discussing one of the obvious cornerstones of a healthy lifestyle: healthy eating! It’s something that confounds and confuses some, but it is really not that scary when you break it down. I am going to focus on the new food pyramid adopted by the USDA in 2005 and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans report to help you all with healthy eating habits. We feel that the best way to argue for healthy lifestyles against fads is to educate people in a down-to-earth way. In this respect this is not just a play-by-play of the food pyramid, but an argument and case for healthy lifestyles.
The old food pyramid that you are probably all familiar with was officially replaced by the USDA a few years ago with a snazzy new design that you can see here. The new pyramid has the food groups stacked horizontally, which views the food groups as essentially coequal and not hierarchical. There is also a person moving up stairs along the side, indicating the importance of exercise, something not illustrated on the old pyramid. Also, the new pyramid design specifies quantities in cups and ounces as opposed to servings. I don’t know about you, but the whole idea of a “serving” was always confusing and never really uniform. I’m glad they made this switch. The pyramid also emphasizes that there is not a one-size-fits-all approach to proper fitness, hence the name MyPyramid.
As promised, I’m going to be going over tips and hints on healthy eating by looking at the food groups and analyzing the USDA’s dietary guidelines. First, we have grains. The USDA uses the simple slogan “make half your grains whole” when describing this food group. There are two different kinds of grains: whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains include the entire grain kernel, but refined grains have the bran and germ removed in order to keep better shelf life. However, while shelf life is improved, a lot of essential nutrients are lost, which is why whole grains are so important! I would advise you to check labels for whole grain foods.
Vegetables fall into one of five categories: dark green, orange, dry beans and peas, starchy vegetables, and others. The USDA suggests that you get some vegetables from each category. The good news is that 100% vegetable juice counts as vegetables. I don’t know about you all, but vegetables are a little awkward to work into your diet. It’s sometimes hard to cook good meals with unique vegetables, and eating a hunk of broccoli is really weird, but something like vegetable juice gives you a lot of the necessary veggies, and it's convenient. This is something you can shoehorn into your fast-paced lifestyle. Easy!
Fruits are pretty self-explanatory and often easier to stomach than veggies. You know what they are, so go after them! Also, 100% fruit juice is another quick and easy way to help get some necessary fruits!
Dairy is any food or drink that is derived from milk that retains the calcium, thus butter, cream cheese, and cream are not dairy products. Try to make most of your dairy choices low-fat. Milk, cheese, and yogurt are all good!
Now we come to proteins. Go lean is the name of the game for meats and poultry! It is also advised that you should go more towards fish as opposed to meats and poultry, as these have healthy oils. Vegetarian? Not a problem! Dry beans and peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are also a great source of protein.
As far as fats and oils go, try to limit them. The USDA has a few points of advice about how much to eat, where to get them, and what to look out for. There are a few too many facts to cover in a pithy paragraph about fats, so I advise you to go to mypyramid.gov to check out what they say. Everything I have mentioned has come from that website, so go there for all kinds of information and personalized fitness tools!
So there you have it! Not too bad, eh? Many people argue that we don’t have time to be healthy, but here I argue that eating healthy is really not that hard, and it's great for your health! Just follow those rough guidelines above and stick within an appropriate number of daily calories, and you should be looking swell! Again, the main purpose of this blog is to argue in favor of a healthy eating lifestyle and to debunk everything otherwise. We believe that the best arguments are intertwined with proper education. We believe that by describing healthy eating in a easy way, we are doing our cause and our issue the best justice possible and countering the conception that healthy food can’t fit in a busy lifestyle.
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