Nutritious Meals Canada’s Guidelines to Healthy Eating

Canada’s Guidelines to Healthy Eating Enjoy a variety of foods. Emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables, and fruit. Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats, and food prepared with little or no fat. Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activity and healthy eating. Limit salt, alcohol, and caffeine.

1.Eating a variety of foods from each food group “Variety is the spice of life”. When choosing food, variety is a good way of making sure you get all the nutrients your body needs. No single food can supply all the nutrients in the amounts you need. By eating a variety of foods from different food groups, your body has a better chance of obtaining the essential nutrients it needs to function well and stay healthy. There are no “good” or “bad” foods. Any food that supplies nutrients can be part of a healthy diet. But choosing high- calorie or high fat foods too often may cause health problems. Eat in moderation!!!

2. Emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables and fruits. These are considered the foundation of a healthy diet. Eat whole-grain breads, cereals and pastas. Eat dark green and orange vegetables and orange fruit more often. Eat dietary fibre.

3. Choose lower-fat dairy products, leaner meats, and food prepared with little or no fat Saturated fat – 10% or less of your daily calories Cholesterol – limit the amount of cholesterol eaten. Total fat – 30% or less of the calories you eat. Remove visible fat from foods, and limit foods that contain invisible fats. Lower fat intake by making substitutes – choosing lower fat versions of high-fat foods or choosing alternatives

4. Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activity and healthy eating Maintaining a healthy body weight can help reduce the risk of lifestyle-related health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, stroke. Physical activity can help you maintain the balance. 30 minutes of physical activity is minimum daily requirement. Maintaining a healthy weight is a balancing act. Food provides energy. The key is to balance the energy supplied by the food you eat with the energy your body uses.

5.Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine. Add little, if any, salt to food while cooking and at the table. Shake once not twice. Choose salty snacks occasionally. Go easy on the processed foods. Check labels for sodium content.

Using Canada’s Food Guide Grain products – 5-12 servings Vegetables and fruits – 5-10 servings Milk products – 3-4 servings Meat and alternatives – 2-3 servings Other – fats, oils, sugar, alcohol, tea, coffee, caffeine, herbs and spices Refer to pages for examples of serving sizes