Eating Essentials

Time to make some changes in your diet? Learn all about the food guide pyramid, remarkable vitamins, the best super foods, calorie requirements, and more.

Balancing Act

Climbing to the Top of the Food Pyramid. The new food pyramid gives you the best choices for your busy lifestyle. Learn why getting closer to the guidelines is a good step in the right direction.

Whole Grains: We’re Not Talking Cardboard.  How to select whole-grain foods packed with fiber and vitamins, plus easy ways to fit more whole grains into your diet.

Vegetables: Going Green, Red, and Orange Discover more about vegetables -- from dark green to orange to starchy. Find out how many vegetable servings you and your family need each day.

Fruit: From Apples to Watermelon. Learn all about fruits, how many servings you need daily, and what fruits can do to boost your health.

Meats and Beans: Not Your Mama’s Protein. Discover the different types of protein foods included in the meats and beans group. Find out how much you need daily from this group depending on your age, sex, and physical activity.

Milk, Yogurt and Cheese: Dairy Is Your Friend. Learn about the different types of dairy products that are high in calcium and low in fat. Discover how many servings you and your family need each day.

Oils: The Good and the Bad

Find out if you are eating healthy fats or unhealthy fats. Learn more about healthy oils and how many servings you need daily.

Eating by the New Food Guide Pyramid. Learn all about the different food groups and calorie and portion sizes you and your family need each day.

A. Vitamins

The Facts About Vitamins. From A to zinc, discover all the remarkable vitamins that can boost wellness and help you feel great.

Essential Vitamins for Women at Every Age. Learn more about essential vitamins women need to stay well. Find out if you’re getting all the necessary vitamins for your age and stage of life.

Vitamins and Minerals: Best Food Sources. Discover why whole foods are excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, and other key nutrients for good health.

Antioxidants and Your Immune System: Super Foods for Optimal Health Learn about antioxidant powerhouses and how these immune-boosting foods keep you well.

B. Necessary Nutrients

7  Nutrients Your Diet May Be Missing  Is your diet be missing these seven essential nutrients? Find   out now.

10  Everyday Super Foods

Try these 10 super foods that are easy to eat and packed with multiple nutrients to help you stay healthy.

The Wonders of Water. Learn how much water is necessary each day for good health and how many common foods such as apples and yogurt are mostly water.

Good Fat, Bad Fat: The Facts About Omega-3. Discover all about the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids and why these good fats should be added to your daily diet.

C. Mealtime Strategies

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day. Discover how breakfast can make the difference in learning at school, productivity at work, and how well you stick with your diet.

Brown Bag Lunches That Make the Grade. Bored with brown bag lunches? Learn how to move beyond PB&J, so lunchtime becomes a gourmet feast without a lot of work.

What’s for Dinner? Quick and Easy Option. Want yummy dinners but have no time to cook? Take a few minutes to learn about quick and easy mealtime options.

Tips for Eating at Work. Discover seven tips for eating at work that can improve your desk-dining experience.

Five Nutrients Your Child May Be Missing

Many kids fall short in 5 essential nutrients -- is your child one? America's children are missing out on five essential nutrients critical to their growth and good health. Coming up short are calcium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin E, and potassium, according to the latest "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" from the U.S. government.

Are your kids getting enough of these vital nutrients? Read on to find out which nutrients your child may lack, why, and how to get these five essential nutrients back into your child's diet.
Calcium: A Bone-Building Essential Nutrient

Calcium is best known for optimizing bone growth and contributing to a fracture-free skeleton during childhood and decades later. The majority of calcium is found in bone tissue, but calcium also circulates in the blood stream.

Blood calcium serves a vital role, participating in normal heart rhythm, blood clotting, and muscle function. The body relies on bone calcium to keep blood calcium concentrations up to par.

Getting enough calcium bolsters your child's bones by balancing the withdrawals with deposits from the diet.

A child's daily calcium needs vary with age, says the Institute of Medicine, the group of experts that set nutrient quotas.
1- through 3-year-olds need 500 milligrams
4- through 8-year-olds need 800 milligrams
9- to 19-year-olds need 1,300 milligrams

(For reference, 8 ounces of milk serves up 300 milligrams of calcium.)

Many American children, especially teens, are way off the mark when it comes to calcium intake.

"Soft drinks, such as soda and fruit beverages, have infiltrated kids' diets, causing milk to take a back seat," says Jodie Shield, MEd, RD, co-author of the American Dietetic Association's Guide to Healthy Eating for Kids, and mother of three.

What's worse, calcium needs increase dramatically at a time in life when kids, especially girls, get far less than the suggested amount. One study found adolescent girls averaged 814 milligrams a day vs. the recommended 1,300.

Experts say that calcium gap is significant. Females run a greater risk for osteoporosis, the brittle bone disease that shows up as bone fractures, sometimes decades down the road.

"Just before the teen years, and all throughout adolescence, children must get enough calcium to provide the foundation for strong bones," says Shield. "During this time, the body lays down nearly half of all the bone mass it will ever have."

Increasing Calcium: Shield suggests offering children low-fat or flavored milks instead of other beverages that offer little more than calories. Including dairy at every meal also insures that children meet their calcium goals.

Eight ounces of any type of milk (including lactose-free); 8 ounces of yogurt; and 1.5 ounces of hard cheese, such as cheddar, each contain about the same amount of calcium. As a bonus, milk and certain yogurts are fortified with vitamin D, necessary for calcium to do its job.

Orange juice with added calcium and vitamin D is another calcium-rich, but dairy-free, option; added vitamin D makes it all the better. Children who don't consume enough dairy or fortified choices may need a calcium supplement.