How making good choices regarding nutrition pays big dividends.

By Charly SHELTON

Good in, good out. You get what you pay for. You are what you eat. There are many ways to say that what one puts into their body is what is used for fuel. So a good diet and exercise yield good health, while a bad diet and a lack of exercise yield poor health. It is a simple idea that has been repeated to most schoolchildren for decades, and yet, according to the official Dietary Guidelines for 2015-2020 released by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, the majority of Americans have a diet low in fruits, vegetables, dairy and oils, and high in added sugars, saturated fats and sodium.

“Over the past century, deficiencies of essential nutrients have dramatically decreased, many infectious diseases have been conquered, and the majority of the U.S. population can now anticipate a long and productive life,” the report states. “At the same time, rates of chronic diseases—many of which are related to poor quality diet and physical inactivity has increased. About half of all American adults have one or more preventable, diet-related chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity and are overweight.”

A balanced diet is essential to living a healthy life. The general rule is broken down into five categories: half the plate for each meal should be fruits and veggies, one quarter should be whole grains and one quarter should be lean meat, with fish at least consumed twice a week. The fifth portion is dairy, which can be a cup of milk or some yogurt for dessert.

These are very loose guidelines with a lot of room for variation; people don’t have to be eat plain chicken and rice every night. Diners should beware of added sugars and fats in foods that may throw off the guidelines. For example, French fries don’t count as a vegetable serving despite the use of potatoes. Mashed potatoes are a good alternative.

“A healthy diet is important for a number of reasons. A healthy diet is one that is balanced with proper macro and micronutrients, meaning a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, water and fiber, as well as vitamins and minerals. These substrates all have functions and jobs in our bodies to keep us healthy,” said Cortney Montgomery, RD, CNSC, director of Clinical Nutrition at Keck Medicine of USC. “When we are deficient or over-indulge in one or more of these nutrients, we may develop acute or chronic disease. Generally, when we make real life style changes in our eating habits along with a good physical activity routine, we can see a difference in our ability to reach or maintain a healthy weight, our energy is improved, and we may impact our overall health by being able to fight acute illness or prevent chronic disease.”

For more information or to read the full Dietary Guidelines 2015-2020, visit DietaryGuidelines.gov.

  Charly Shelton, Mary Okeefe