Healthy Eating Nutrition Guide

People's diets have changed radically in the past 100 years. From the movement away from simple whole grains to processed grains and bleached flours to the movement of meats and fats to the center of a modern diet, many of these dietary changes have not been good for people's overall health. Although the diet of many people has changed, the dietary requirements of most people have remained unchanged.

Food Pyramid

The food pyramid of the 1970s purported to show proper emphasis of certain food groups over others. It was eventually replaced by the U.S. government's My Pyramid, which changed food group emphasis and did its best to correct fundamental problems with the original food pyramid. The old food pyramids have recently been replaced by the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid, which builds on the solid conceptual foundation created by the original food pyramids.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables and Whole Grains

Aside from good, regular exercise, the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and of whole grains is the most important basis for healthy nutrition. A good way to prepare vegetables is to either steam them or stir fry them in a healthy oil, like olive oil. Fresh fruits and vegetables are nutritionally complete, containing everything from fiber to vitamins and minerals and very healthy plant based protein.

Healthy Fats

Fats in your diet should not contain any trans-fats, which have been linked to heart and artery disease. Certain other fats are better for your health than others. Traditionally, fats and oils contained in fish are considered very healthy because of their high concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids. Olive oil has been considered the healthiest cooking oil available. However, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil are also very healthy cooking oils and offer some advantages, such as in heat tolerance, over olive oil.