Basics and Importance of Nutrition
What foods should I have in my diet?
- All foods can fit into a healthy, balanced diet! However, to quote from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (see pg. 18), "The core elements that make up a healthy dietary pattern include:
- Vegetables of all types—dark green; red and orange; beans, peas, and lentils; starchy; and other vegetables
- Fruits, especially whole fruit
- Grains, at least half of which are whole grain
- Dairy, including fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese, and/or lactose-free versions and fortified soy beverages and yogurt as alternatives
- Protein foods, including lean meats, poultry, and eggs; seafood; beans, peas, and lentils; and nuts, seeds, and soy products
- Oils, including vegetable oils and oils in food, such as seafood and nuts"
Is there a number of servings of fruits and vegetables we should have every day?
As for the number of servings of fruits and vegetables we should have per day, recommendations vary. The Dietary Guidelines recommend about 2 cups (4 servings) of fruit and 2.5 cups (5 servings) of vegetables per day for most adults (see pg. 20).
However, this is a lofty goal, and a recent research study published in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association (AHA), demonstrated that consuming 5 servings of fruits and vegetables combined (ideally 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables) was associated with the lowest mortality, while, above that level, higher intake was not associated with greater risk reduction. The AHA has a nice infographic that shows what counts as a serving of fruits and vegetables.