What is a dietary guideline?
| Dietary
Guidelines were set up by the Department of Health and Human Services
and the United States Department of Agriculture to help people (and kids)
eat the right foods that will keep their bodies functioning at peak performance.
They reflect recommendations of health and nutrition experts who agree
that enough is known about the effect of diet on health to encourage you
to eat in a certain way. The guidelines help you get the nutrients
(say: noo-tree-ents) that you need. Nutrients are the things in foods
that provide good nutrition. The commonly recognized nutrients are
protein, carbohydrates, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
• Protein is commonly referred to as our “body builder.” It helps to create new tissues, muscles and connective tissues (the things that hold your muscles to your bones) as well as replace or repair worn out tissues. • Carbohydrates are turned into energy by our body. You need energy to power your brain, your lungs, your heart and anything that moves on your body. • Fat is used by your body as energy. The problem with too much fat is that your body stores it to use at a later time. Our body is so efficient at storing fat that if we have too much fat in our diet, we will gain excessive amounts of weight and that is not healthy. • Fiber is needed by our body to keep it clean on the inside. Fiber helps keep our digestive tract clean and prevents us from becoming constipated.(That’s not a pretty picture!) It also helps to keep our vascular system clean ( what your blood runs through) by helping to remove bad cholesterol (a type of fat that can clog your veins) from arteries and veins. • Vitamins and minerals aid different body functions and processes. For example vitamin C helps our body fight infection and the mineral calcium helps our bones and teeth to be strong. For a look at the seven Dietary Guidelines, set your course for this link to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bulletin The Food Pyramid-Food Label Connection: http://www.fda.gov/fdac/special/foodlabel/pyramid.html
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Updated: May ,2000