Being physically active and eating a healthy diet are keys to a healthy lifestyle. But what does “healthy eating” really mean?
Healthy eating:
- Emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.
- Includes lean meat, poultry, fish, cooked dry beans and peas, eggs, and nuts.
- Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, salt, and added sugars.
- Balances the calories from foods and beverages with calories burned through physical activity so that you can maintain a healthy weight.
For more information, visit ChooseMyPlate.gov, a website developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ChooseMyPlate.gov offers personalized eating plans, tools to help you plan and assess your food choices, and advice to help you make smart choices from every food group and get the most nutrition out of your calories. It's easy to use: simply type in your age, gender, height, weight, and physical activity level to get suggestions about how to meet your nutrition needs.
The National Institute on Aging also has an 80-page nutrition guide called What's on Your Plate?:Smart Food Choices for Healthy Aging. This guide to healthy eating, written especially for older adults, describes what you need to know about food groups, serving sizes, food labels, and more.
Printer-friendly version
