Healthy Eating

A healthy diet requires some planning and purpose and an effort to include a variety of foods in your meals. If you look closely at how you eat, you might find you aren't getting enough nutrients because you don't get the recommended number of servings from each food group.

So, not only is it important to pay attention to what you eat but also to what you are missing from your diet. To accomplish this, keep a food diary of everything you eat and drink for 1 week. Pay attention to serving sizes, and check to see if you are eating a variety of foods from each of the food groups. You don't need to meet the minimum number every day, but try to get the recommended intake on average over a week. You might find that making a few small changes will ensure that you're eating a healthy, balanced diet. Or, you may find that you are missing many important nutrients.

Do I have to make dramatic changes in how I eat?

Once you are aware of nutrients that you may be missing in your diet or other ways that your eating is out of balance, you can begin to make a few small changes toward a more healthful diet. For example, simply adding a yogurt as a snack might be enough to meet your milk servings. Adding a sliced banana to your cereal will take care of a fruit serving.

Paying attention to serving sizes is also important. You may not know that a serving size of cereal is only 1 ounce (28 grams), which is 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup for most cereals. That means a typical bowl full of cereal is usually far more than a serving. So instead of a big bowl of cereal and milk for breakfast, have one serving (1 ounce) of cereal, and add a sliced banana and a small glass (1/2 cup) of juice. Use skim or soy milk instead of whole milk to reduce the amount of fat you take in.

If you find that you rarely eat fresh fruits or vegetables, make it a goal to include a serving or two at each meal. Only 1/2 cup of a cooked vegetable or 1 cup of salad greens counts as one serving. Drinking a small can of tomato juice, adding lettuce or bean sprouts to your sandwich, putting tomato sauce on your pasta—these are small ways to boost your vegetable servings. The new dietary guidelines recommend 2 cups of fruit and 2 and 1/2 cups of vegetables per day.

As you make changes, continue with your food diary. Set a weekly goal as you add or change what you are eating. For example, this week make it your goal to order a salad instead of french fries, add vegetables to your pizza, or bring a yogurt to work every day.

Just remember, food is one of life's greatest pleasures. All foods, if eaten in moderation, can be a part of a healthy diet. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt, sugar, and calories, limit how often you eat them, eat smaller servings, or look for healthy substitutes. Your key to a healthy, balanced diet is moderation. Eat a wide variety of foods, especially those high in nutrients, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, fish, lean meats, and poultry.

Can eating healthier protect me from diseases?

A healthy diet can actually help you lower your risk for disease. To avoid disease, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat dairy products. The guidelines also emphasize watching calories to prevent weight gain, limiting alcohol, and cutting back on foods high in salt, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and added sugar. Activity is also an important part of the picture. The guidelines suggest 30 to 90 minutes of activity per day.1

Specifically, a healthy diet may help in the following ways

Eating a low-fat diet that includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products can lower your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. It may also prevent certain types of cancer.
Limiting saturated fats, which are found in animal products such as fatty meats, cheese, cream, and butter, can reduce your cholesterol levels and lower your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Replacing saturated fats with monounsaturated fats, such as olive and canola oils, can help you lower "bad" (LDL) cholesterol.
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids found in polyunsaturated fats (in foods such as fish, nuts, soybeans, and flaxseeds) may have a protective effect against heart disease.
Eliminating or reducing trans-fatty acids found in hydrogenated oils (for example, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) may help you lower cholesterol.
Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables provides antioxidants (such as beta-carotene and vitamins E and C), which protect the body from damage caused by oxygen free radicals and lower your risk of heart disease, cancer, and high blood pressure.

Should I be eating a low-salt, low-carbohydrate, or low-fat diet?

Everyone can benefit from eating healthy foods, but not everyone has the same nutritional needs. Pregnant women, growing children, and older adults will have different needs for certain nutrients. People who have high blood pressure need to watch how much salt they eat. Those who have high cholesterol may be on a cholesterol-lowering diet that restricts saturated and trans fats and cholesterol. And people who have diabetes will need to spread the carbohydrate that they eat throughout the day.

If you are generally healthy and don't have health issues that require a special diet, it's still wise to watch how much salt, fat, and added sugar you eat in order to prevent diseases such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Limit salt in your diet by eating as many fresh foods as possible. Prepared foods, such as soups, snack foods, and canned foods, are extremely high in salt (sodium). Also watch the amount of fat you eat. Replace saturated and trans fats with monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oils. Include healthy omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, walnuts, flaxseed and canola oils, and soybeans.

Low-carbohydrate diets may help some people lose weight initially, but they may not be healthy over a long period of time. Low-carb diets are high in total fat and saturated fat and are low in fiber. They also restrict grains, fruits, and vegetables, which protect against disease and provide important nutrients.

If you're concerned about carbohydrate, choose complex carbohydrate such as that found in whole grains, vegetables, and beans, because these provide a large variety of nutrients and fiber. Simple carbohydrate, such as in sweets and soda, is high in calories and provides few nutrients and no fiber.

Does eating healthier mean I have to go on a diet?

No, eating healthy is not about dieting; it is a way to improve your health. Consistently eating a balanced diet that is low in saturated fats and trans fats and includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and good fats (such as olive oil) will lower your risk for disease.

Being physically active along with eating a healthy diet will improve your health even further. Regular physical activity significantly reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression, and cancers of the breast, colon, and female reproductive system.2

How Do I Start Eating Healthier?

Step 1: Look at how you eat

To eat healthier, you first need to know what makes up a balanced diet. A nutritional guideline such as the food guide pyramid plan will show you how many servings of each food group you need for a healthy, balanced diet. The food guide pyramid emphasizes whole grains and fruits and vegetables in your diet while limiting fat and sugar. Once you know what foods make up a balanced diet, you can determine what changes you need to make.

Keep a food diary for a week or two and record everything you eat or drink. Make sure to track the number of servings you get from each food group.

You need:

6 to 11 servings of a variety of whole grains (rice, bread, pasta, cereal).
2 to 4 servings of a variety of fruits.
3 to 5 servings of a variety of vegetables.
2 to 3 servings of milk, yogurt, or cheese.
2 to 3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, nuts, or eggs.
A small amount of fats, oils, and sweets.

After the first week, review your food diary. Ask yourself a few questions: Are you getting the minimum number of servings from each food group on the average? Do you get plenty of fruits and vegetables throughout the day? Are most of the foods you eat high in fat, sugar, and salt? Do you prepare meals at home, or do you eat more fast foods or convenience foods? Do you drink beverages that contain a lot of sugar? Do you drink plenty of water?

The number of calories you need each day depends on your age, gender, and activity level. In general:

Less active women and older adults need about 1,600 calories per day.
Active women and most less active men need about 2,200 calories per day.
Active men need about 2,800 calories per day.

Step 2: Start thinking about changes

Look over your food diary. Do you find that you eat out a lot? If so, you may be getting more fat, salt, and calories than you need, and your diet may not be balanced. Do you eat a lot of meat but not many vegetables? Your diet may be too high in saturated fats and low in fiber. Do you rely on packaged convenience foods for a lot of your meals? If so, you may be getting more salt and sugar than are healthy.

Start reading labels on convenience foods that you eat to see the amount of nutrients they contain. Fast-food and convenience-food meals often contain few or no fruits or vegetables, so making sure you have some fruits and vegetables on the side will make the meal more nutritious.

Guidelines, such as the new 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, provide tips for eating well to prevent diseases, such as heart attack and stroke.

Step 3: Start small

Don't try to make dramatic changes to your diet all at once. You would likely feel overwhelmed and deprived of your favorite foods and, therefore, would be more likely to fail. Start slowly, and gradually change your habits.

Try any of the following:

Use whole-wheat bread instead of white bread.
Eat brown rice instead of white rice.
Try whole-wheat pasta instead of pasta made with white flour. Or try a mixture of the two.
Use skim or 1% (low-fat) milk instead of whole milk or 2% milk.
Try low-fat cheeses and low-fat yogurt.
Add more fruits and vegetables to meals and have them for snacks.
Add lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and onion to sandwiches.
Add fruit to cereal.

Step 4: Know your ingredients

To make healthy choices, you need to know how certain foods affect your body.

Fat: Recognize the difference between fats. Saturated and hydrogenated (trans) fats can raise cholesterol levels. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids may reduce your risk of developing coronary artery disease.3 Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, such as trout, tuna, and salmon, as well as in plant foods, such as flaxseed, canola oil, walnuts, wheat germ, and soy. They may also help lower blood pressure and triglycerides.
Carbohydrate: Learn the differences between types of carbohydrate. Choose whole-grain sources of carbohydrate found in unprocessed cereal grains, such as brown rice instead of white rice and whole-wheat bread instead of white bread. Whole-grain sources of carbohydrate add fiber to your diet and reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Sugar: Milk and fruits contain naturally occurring simple sugars, but they also contain many other vitamins and minerals. Added sugars, such as in granola bars and fruit drinks without 100% real fruit juice, have been refined so that all the other nutrients in the sugar are removed. Used sparingly, added sugars can enhance the taste of food. But too much sugar can fill you up and displace other more nutritious foods, contributing to excess calories and weight gain.

Learn how to read food labels and how to understand health claims that can legally appear on food packaging.

How Do I Stick to a Healthy Diet?

Enjoy food and practice moderation

Food is one of life's greatest pleasures. All foods, if eaten in moderation, can be a part of a healthy diet. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt, sugar, and calories, limit how often you eat them, but don't cut them out entirely. Eat smaller servings, eat them less often, or look for healthy substitutes. The key to a healthy, balanced diet is moderation. Eat a wide variety of foods, especially those high in nutrients, such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, fish, lean meats, and poultry.

Find creative ways to add fruits and vegetables to meals

Add apple chunks, pineapple, and raisins to tuna salad.
Add lots of colorful vegetables, such as red cabbage, carrots, and spinach, to green salads. Top with orange, nectarine, or grapefruit slices.
Add green, red, or yellow pepper strips, carrots, cucumber, and broccoli to a pasta or potato salad.
Add vegetables to pizza and sandwiches, and add fruits to yogurt and cereals.

Make healthy choices when eating out

There are usually healthy options at every restaurant, even at fast-food places. The type of restaurant you choose can help you make healthy choices. Ethnic restaurants, such as Indian, Thai, or Japanese, have lots of healthy dishes on the menu. A vegetarian restaurant will obviously have more vegetable choices than a drive-through burger stand. However, most fast-food chains are now offering more low-fat or healthier choices on the menu.

If you eat out a lot, try the following:

Order a veggie pizza with a whole-wheat crust or add lots of veggies to your pepperoni.
Order a veggie pizza with grilled chicken instead of sausage or pepperoni. Ask for less cheese on your pizza.
Order a pasta with roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, or marinara sauce. Avoid cream-based sauces.
Order a vegetable or grilled chicken wrap.
Order vegetable soup if available.
Choose a variety of vegetables from a salad bar.
Order foods that are broiled or poached rather than fried or breaded.
Cut back on butter or margarine used on bread. Better yet: dip bread in olive oil instead.
Order sauces, gravies, and salad dressings on the side so you can control how much you use.
Share appetizers, desserts, and even entrées with your dining partner.
Ask for salsa with a baked potato instead of sour cream, butter, cheese, or bacon.
Order a child's portion or take half of your meal home.
Order the smallest portions at fast-food restaurants (don't be tempted to take the big meal at a reduced price); opt for salads or a broiled chicken sandwich (skip the mayonnaise and cheese).

Preparing Healthy Meals

What if I don't have time to cook? Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time. You can prepare a healthy meal just as quickly as an unhealthy one. It's just a matter of planning ahead, having the right foods on hand, and learning how to cook quick, healthy meals.

Ask friends or coworkers who eat healthfully how they manage to find time. Get family members involved and ask them to help prepare meals or do other tasks. Find a cookbook or collect recipes that feature time-saving ideas.

To make preparing meals more fun, take a cooking class with a friend or loved one. Learn to prepare healthy ethnic dishes, such as Mediterranean, Indian, and Japanese foods, that you can share with your family and friends.

Try following these tips for making fast, healthy meals and snacks:

Buy packaged, prewashed, ready-to-eat fresh vegetables, such as baby carrots, salad mixes, and chopped or shredded broccoli and cauliflower.
Buy packaged, presliced fruits, such as melon or pineapple.
Find recipes using foods that don't require a lot of cleaning and preparation, such as baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, or grapes.
Drink 100% fruit or vegetable juice as a snack.
Blend low-fat yogurt, fruit juice, and canned or frozen fruit to make a smoothie for breakfast or a snack.
Use frozen vegetables to make a stir fry with skinless chicken. Serve on top of a quick brown rice or whole-wheat pasta.
Add frozen vegetables to a jar of marinara spaghetti sauce and serve on whole-wheat pasta.
Cook potatoes or other vegetables in a microwave.
Cook vegetables and fruits over the grill. Drizzle them with olive oil and wrap in aluminum foil. Or put them on a skewer and cook directly on the grill.
Make a fast fruit salad with sliced bananas, apples, blueberries, and a can of mandarin oranges.

Why Is Healthy Eating Important?

Eating a healthy diet is important for many reasons.

A. Healthy foods supply nutrients.

A healthy, balanced diet provides nutrients to your body. Nutrients give you energy and keep your heart beating, your brain active, and your muscles working. Nutrients help build and strengthen bones, muscles, and tendons and also regulate body processes, such as blood pressure.

As you plan for a healthier diet, keep these three points in mind:

Balance: A well-balanced diet helps ensure that you get all the nutrients you need. Use the USDA food guide to learn how.
Variety: Eat a wide variety of foods. No one food provides all the nutrients you need. Choose a wide variety among and within the food groups.
Moderation: Use moderation as your guide for everything, including the calories you eat each day, your exercise and other activities, desserts, sweets, and even restriction. Moderation lets you eat all foods as long as you don't overdo it.

Three essential nutrients (macronutrients) are protein, carbohydrate, and fat. They provide energy (as measured in calories) to the body.

Vitamins and minerals are known as micronutrients. They play many important roles in the structure and function of your body, such as making new cells and promoting wound healing. See a table of vitamins and their functions and sources. See a table of minerals and their functions and sources.

In addition to the essential nutrients, foods also contain nonnutrients that can affect your body. These include fiber and phytochemicals (found in plants), many of which are protective against disease. Some of these compounds act as antioxidants, which protect the body's cells from damage.

B. A healthy diet lowers your risk for disease.

Healthy foods can help you prevent and treat disease. Eating more fruits and vegetables can help lower blood pressure and may lower your risk of lung, oral, esophageal, stomach, and colon cancer.4 Eating less saturated fat may also lower your risk for cancer and heart disease.

A healthy diet also reduces the risk of:

Heart attack and stroke. One study found that men and women who closely followed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) dietary guidelines had a 28% reduction in heart attack and a 14% risk reduction in stroke compared with those who did not follow the guidelines as well.5, 6
High cholesterol. Reducing saturated and trans fats and cholesterol in your diet can lower your risk of high cholesterol and coronary artery disease (CAD). For more information, see the topics High Cholesterol and Coronary Artery Disease.
High blood pressure. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables (8 to 10 servings per day), following a low-fat diet, and eating low-fat dairy products (3 servings per day) can lower high blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Osteoporosis. Getting enough calcium will help protect you from osteoporosis. Calcium is found in dairy products and certain leafy, green vegetables and in many foods that are calcium-enriched. For more information, see the topic Osteoporosis.
Spina bifida. Pregnant women should eat foods that contain folate or folic acid (such as leafy, green vegetables or folic acid-enriched grains) before and during pregnancy to help protect babies from this birth defect. Women of child-bearing age should consider taking a supplement containing 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) of folic acid per day.

C. A healthy diet can help manage certain diseases.

Diabetes

A healthy diet is important to treat diabetes. If you have diabetes, you must balance the carbohydrate you eat throughout the day to have good blood sugar control. For more information on the role of nutrition in treating diabetes, see the topics Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes.

High cholesterol

You may be able to lower your cholesterol levels by eating foods low in saturated and trans fats and cholesterol and high in soluble fiber. For more information about nutrition's effect on cholesterol and heart disease, see the topic High Cholesterol.

High blood pressure

Making changes in your diet may help lower blood pressure.

Eat 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Eat 3 servings of low-fat dairy products per day.
Eat a diet low in total fat and saturated fat.
Lose weight if you are overweight; even as little as 10 lb(4.5 kg) can make a difference.
Reduce salt in your diet.

Author Ellie Rodgers
Editor Geri Metzger
Associate Editor Terrina Vail
Primary Medical Reviewer Adam Husney, MD
- Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer Ruth Schneider, MPH, RD
- Diet and Nutrition
Specialist Medical Reviewer Michelle Carter, MEd, RD, LD
- Dietitian
Last Updated February 25, 2005