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Are you eating
enough of the right foods to get the
vital nutrients you need for good
health? Do you know how many servings of
each food you should be eating per day?
What constitutes a serving size of each
food type?
The food guide
pyramid, produced by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, answers these questions
and more.
In a world where
super-sizing has become the norm, a
single serving may be much smaller than
what you're accustomed to. The following
recommendations should be used as a
general guideline, as individual
nutrition needs vary widely according to
factors such as age and activity level.
Bread, cereal,
rice and pasta
Beginning with the
bread, cereal, rice and pasta portion of
the pyramid, most of us should strive to
consume six to 11 servings. A serving
consists of one slice of regular-sized
bread. A jumbo bagel served at most
coffee shops, however, may contain as
many as five servings.
A serving of pasta
is about one-half cup, which is about
the size of half a baseball. Many
restaurants serve up to four times that
amount.
Vegetables and
fruit
Vegetables should
make up a substantial portion - three to
five - of your daily servings. A portion
of leafy green vegetables fills about
one cup, the size of a small fist.
Other veggies,
such as broccoli or squash, fill about
one-half cup per serving. The Food Guide
Pyramid also suggests eating two to four
servings of fruit per day. A medium
banana, apple or orange each make an
easy and convenient serving.
Or, if you prefer,
three-quarters of a cup of fruit juice
or one-half cup of canned fruit is also
equivalent to one serving.
Dairy and
protein sources
It is important to
watch the fat content of the next three
groups because foods that come from
animals are generally higher in fat than
most plant-based foods.
The food guide
pyramid suggests that an adult should
consume two or three servings from the
milk, yogurt and cheese group. One cup
of milk, one and one-half ounces of
natural cheese or two ounces of
processed cheese all equal one serving.
A serving of
cheese is roughly the size of your pinky
or a one-inch cube.
An equal number of
servings, two or three, should come from
the meat, fish, poultry, beans, eggs and
nuts group, or the main protein group. A
serving of cooked lean meat is
equivalent to two or three ounces, which
is roughly the size of a deck of cards.
Beans or legumes
may also be consumed as a plant-based
protein source. One serving of beans is
about one-half cup of cooked dry beans.
Eggs are also a
high-quality protein source. One egg is
equivalent to one ounce of lean meat;
therefore, a serving of eggs would be
about two or three eggs.
Two tablespoons of
peanut butter or one-third cup of nuts
are also equivalent to one ounce of
meat.
Extras
The top portion of
the pyramid includes fats, oils and
sweets, which should all be used
sparingly. These foods provide calories,
but few nutritional benefits.
Most Americans eat
diets that are too high in fat, so
experts recommend limiting foods that
may contain hidden fats, such as many
baked goods, salad dressings and sweets. |
