Nutrition and Meal Planning

Food Guides and Nutritionally Adequate Diets

• The USDA has issued specific dietary recommendations for Americans for over 100 years.
• The first food guide was published in 1943, based on RDAs for the general public.
• The "Basic Four" food groups were introduced in the mid-1950s: milk, meats, fruits and vegetables, and breads and cereals.

MyPyramid Plan

• The USDA released the MyPyramid Plan in 2005, which was a food guidance system based on Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005.
• The MyPyramid Plan emphasized the importance of physical activity and enabled consumers to monitor their activity levels.
• The plan was replaced by MyPlate in 2011.

MyPlate

• MyPlate is an interactive dietary and menu planning guide that focuses on five food groups: fruits, vegetables, protein foods, grains, and dairy.
• MyPlate does not include a portion of the plate for "oils," but notes the need for fat in the diet.
• The www.myplate.gov website provides a variety of diet-related tools, including games, recipes, quizzes, video clips, and "MyPlate Plan," an interactive tool for developing nutritionally adequate daily food plans.
• MyPlate Plan has 12 different nutritionally adequate daily food patterns that supply from 1000 to 3200 kcal/day for people aged 2 and older.
• Each food pattern is individualized to meet a person's age, sex, and physical activity level.

MyPlate Plan

• MyPlate Plan limits intakes of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.
• To use MyPlate Plan, users can visit the website and fill in information about their age, sex, weight, height, and estimated level of physical activity.
• The plan provides one or two estimates of daily energy needs and indicates how much food to eat from each food group daily to meet recommended energy levels.

MyPlate Recommendations

• Table 3.7 shows MyPlate's food intake recommendations for average, healthy 20-year-old adults.
• The recommendations emphasize nutrient-dense foods and beverages and limit empty calories.
• Following a healthy diet is just one aspect of achieving a healthy weight; physical activity is also important.

Challenges of Using MyPlate

• Classifying menu items that combine a variety of foods from more than one group can be challenging.
• Judging portion sizes without measuring cups and a scale can be difficult.
• Estimating portion sizes using familiar objects, such as a tennis ball and a bar of soap, can be helpful.

Other Food Guides

• The USDA's original Food Guide Pyramid inspired the development of other food pyramids for people who follow cultural and ethnic food traditions.
• Health Canada has a food guide, "Canada's Food Guide," which is an interactive guide.
• The typical American diet does not provide recommended amounts of fruit, vegetables, and dairy products.

Food Lists and Carbohydrate Counting

• The Food Lists for Diabetes and Weight Management can be used to estimate the energy, protein, carbohydrate, and fat content of foods.
• The Food Lists method categorizes foods into three broad groups: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
• Within each group, the Food Lists suggest choices for each type of food, with specified amounts providing about the same amount of macronutrients and calories.
• Carbohydrate counting is a popular tool for people with diabetes and obesity to manage their diets.