Nutritional BalanceBy Lolo Jones

4th Grade

What is a balanced diet to the government of the United States?

The U.S. government believes that to be healthy and in shape, we need to consume good, clean, and healthy drinks and food. They also believe that you should have

good sized helpings of veggies, fruits, protein, grains, and dairy on your plate every day, for every meal.

Oils How much oil you consume in 1 day depends on

your age, gender, and how much physical activity you have.

Some Americans get enough oil through foods they eat. Some of these foods are:

cooking oil, fish, nuts, and salad dressing.

Protein How much protein you consume depends

on your age, gender, and level of physical activity.

Most Americans consume enough of this food group. Though, we need to make more varied and healthier choices of these foods.

Dairyo Foods that are made from milk that have

almost zero calcium are not dairy products. Some of these foods include: butter, cream cheese, and cream.

Foods that are made from milk and have plenty of calcium are part of this group. Many foods made from milk are in the dairy group. So are all fluid milk products.

However much dairy you consume depends on your age.

Grainsa) Out of all the grains you eat in a day, at least two-

fourths, or one half, should be whole grains. b) The government believes that you should have

plenty of grains, but not too much! How much you consume depends on your gender, age, and level of physical activity.

A. Grains have been divided into 2 groups. Whole grain, and refined grain.

B. Popcorn is actually one of the grain products. Some others are: amaranth, brown rice, whole rye, bulgur (cracked wheat).

Fruits

factsDid you know that the amount of fruits you eat depends on your age, gender, and how much physical activity you have ?Or that any fruit (or any 100% fruit juice) counts as part of the “fruit food group?”

melon

Commonly eaten fruit

berry Commonly eaten fruit

melon

cantaloupe Papaya strawberry Kiwi fruit

honeydew

table

Commonly eaten fruit berry Mixed fruits

mangoes raspberries Fruit cocktail

Veggies The amount of veggies you eat depends on

your gender, age, and level of physical activity.

Some vegetables are: bok choy, mesclun, cowpeas, and taro.

Veggies are organized into 5 types depending on their nutrient content, such as the dark-green veggies, starchy veggies, red and orange veggies, the beans and peas group, and the “other veggies” group!

Resources!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/

www.choosemyplate.gov/about.html

www.choosemplate.gov/food-groupsoils.html

www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/protein-foods.html

www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/dairy.html

www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/grains.html

www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/fruits.html

www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/vegetables.html