Dietary Guidelines

Every five years since 1980, the US Department of Health and Human Services has released new Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The current edition focuses on making small changes to your daily eating habits to improve your overall health and fitness in the long run. Here are the overarching dietary guidelines that the HHS recommends for Americans.

Follow a Healthy Eating Pattern

Every food and beverage decision you make helps to define your overall eating pattern. The ultimate goal is to eat healthy food at the appropriate calorie level to maintain a healthy body weight, support adequate nutrient intake, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Eat the Right Amount of Calories

Food nutrition labels always list recommended daily values based on a 2,000-calorie diet. However, the exact amount of calories you need depends on your gender, age, weight, and activity level. The American Cancer Society has a useful calorie counter calculator to help you determine how many calories you should eat to maintain or lose weight.

Get Enough Nutrients

A healthy eating pattern can meet most of a person’s nutritional needs through food. Dietary supplements can help fill in the gaps, but the body absorbs and utilizes vitamins and minerals best when they come from food rather than a pill. Still, it is perfectly acceptable to supplement your diet with a vitamin that you would otherwise consume in less-than-recommended amounts from your diet alone.

Decrease the Risk of Chronic Disease

The rate of diet-related chronic disease—including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, poor bone health, and even some cancers—has escalated dramatically in recent years. About half of all American adults, or about 117 million people, have one or more preventable chronic diseases. Following the recommended dietary guidelines, reducing tobacco and alcohol use, and getting more physical activity could put an end to this epidemic.

Focus on Eating a Variety of Nutrient-Dense Foods

To give your body adequate nutrients without going over the recommended calorie limit, you need to choose foods with high nutrition content from all the different food groups. Here are some examples:

  • Vegetables from various subgroups, including dark leafy greens, red and orange veggies, beans and peas, and starches
  • Fruits and berries
  • Whole grains
  • Low-fat or fat-free dairy, including milk, cheese, yogurt, and fortified soy products
  • Protein from meat sources, including lean red meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood
  • Protein from plant sources, including beans and peas, nuts, seeds, and soy products

Limit Calories from Unhealthy Sources

Empty calories do nothing to improve your health. Recommended dietary guidelines suggest cutting back on foods and drinks that are high in the following components:

  • Added sugar: Consume less than 10 percent of your daily calories from added sugar.
  • Saturated fat and trans fat: Consume less than 10 percent of your daily calories from these unhealthy fats.
  • Sodium: Consumes less than 2,300 milligrams of salt per day.
  • Alcohol: If you consume alcohol, only do so in moderation, which is defined as one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men (who are of legal drinking age).

Shift to Healthier Food and Beverage Choices

If your diet currently contains lots of unhealthy choices, work on shifting to healthier alternatives that still satisfy your cravings. Maintain the changes you make to see a difference in your overall health.

Remember, healthy eating is adaptable. You can follow dietary guidelines by consuming certain foods and avoiding the things you don’t like. Eating should be a pleasure, and with the proper selections, you can eat healthily and enjoy your meal!

Here are some examples of healthy shifts you can make in your diet:

  • Crunchy carrot sticks and hummus dip instead of potato chips and ranch dip
  • Fresh apples instead of apple-flavored pastries
  • Whole-grain bread instead of white bread
  • Unsalted peanuts instead of candy bars with nuts
  • Olive oil instead of butter
  • Flavored carbonated water instead of soda

Support Healthy Eating Patterns for All

The food choices an individual makes are influenced by several factors, including the available options, costs, settings, and societal norms. Decisions are rarely made in isolation.

Everyone has a role to play in helping those around them meet the recommended dietary guidelines.

  • Positive changes often start at home, so parents should focus on filling the refrigerator and pantry with healthy snack options for the family. The emphasis should be on cooking meals, not eating out, and the family should engage in physical activities together.
  • School policies designed to enhance food options in the cafeteria lead to improvements in the purchasing behaviors of school children. Administrators can even incorporate healthy eating into the curriculum to teach kids about nutrition. School gardens are particularly educational.
  • Workplace nutrition policies can improve the diet and physical activity level of employees. Ideas include options for nutrition counseling, active breaks, walking meetings, and healthy snacks in break rooms and vending machines.
  • Communities can improve access to food, especially for people in need, by facilitating more corner stores, farmer’s markets, food banks, and community gardens.
  • Food retail locations can stock their shelves with healthy options, including fresh produce, and create outreach programs to consumers about making healthier choices.

Learn More About Dietary Guidelines at Spine Correction Center of the Rockies

We offer nutritional assessments to help our patients respond effectively to the natural therapies we offer. When your body has all the proper nutrients, it’s better equipped to heal from chronic ailments like back pain and inflammation.

To learn more about the conditions we treat, or to schedule a free consultation, please call our Fort Collins office at (970) 658-5115.