U.S. Dietary Guidelines

Below are the Dietary Guidelines, details about each guideline, and the benefit of following each guideline.


Guideline Details What it will do for you
Eat a variety of foods
  • Following the Food Guide Pyramid will ensure variety
  • Eat a variety of foods within each group (e.g., eat a variety of fruits)
  • Provide your body with a many different vitamins and minerals, and a variety of other nutrients such as fiber, carbohydrate, protein
Balance the food you eat with physical activity – maintain or improve your weight
  • To MAINTAIN weight:  30 minutes of moderate activity on most if not all days of the week (see exercise list, below)
  • To lose weight, exercise more without eating more!
  • Balance your food intake with the amount of exercise you get
  • Help to prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, certain kinds of cancer, breathing problems and other illnesses since added body fat can cause these problems
  • Choose a diet with plenty of grains vegetables and fruit
    		•
    • Excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, complex carbohydrates and fiber. Unless you add fatty sauces or fry them, these foods are low in fat.
    • Protect you from heart disease and certain types of cancer.
    Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol
    • Choose lean meat, low-fat foods, use low-fat cooking methods (bake, broil, boil, steam), go easy on high-fat spreads, dressings and sauces (and use the low-fat versions when possible).
    • Limiting your fat can protect you from heart disease, obesity, high blood cholesterol, and some cancers, which are all caused by high fat intake.
    Choose a diet moderate in sugars
    • Limit sugar that you add to a food/drink AND foods with sugar already added. 
    • Limit your sugar intake, but also, try to get most of your sugar from natural sources so that you can get other benefits.
    • Help control weight
    • Prevent tooth decay
    Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium
    • The terms "salt" and "sodium" are used interchangeably
    • Sources of salt can be surprising—check label
    • Help prevent high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke, which can be caused by high sodium intake.
    If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation
    • Moderate drinking = no more than one drink per day. 
    • Help prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, birth defects, and diseases of the liver and pancreas, which can be caused by drinking alcohol in more than moderate amounts.

     

    The table below describes different "moderate" physical activities and the amount of calories that each burns.

    Moderate Activity Time necessary to burn 150 calories (therefore, to be considered a moderate activity)
    Wheelchair-specific activities .
    Wheeling self in wheelchair 30-40 minutes
    Wheelchair basketball 20 minutes
    Measured in able-bodied people (amount of calories burned may vary for those performing activity in wheelchair) .
    Washing and waxing a car 45-60 minutes
    Washing windows or floors 45-60 minutes
    Gardening 30-45 minutes
    Shoveling snow 15 minutes
    Playing volleyball 45 minutes
    Water aerobics 30 minutes
    Raking leaves 30 minutes

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