What should I eat?

Hi   -ga,

An overly simple answer to your question would be merely 'food'.
However, I am presuming that you want a little more information than
that.

If you want to be healthy, it is generally accepted that you should
eat a balanced diet. There are certain basic food groups: grains and
cereals; fruit and vegetables; dairy products; meat, poultry and fish;
and sugars, fats and oils. To have a balanced diet, you must eat a
certain number of portions from each food group each day. Your diet
should also be low in saturated fat and cholesterol. To find out how
much you should be eating, and of what, try the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, which can be found here:
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/

This website also contains some information on the Food Pyramid, which
shows the basic food groups.
http://www.nal.usda.gov:8001/py/pmap.htm


Of course, if you have any special dietary requirements, then you
should modify your diet to take these into account. If you suffer from
celiac disease, you should avoid any products that contain gluten. The
most obvious of these is bread and other wheat-based products, but
gluten can be found in a number of products that you wouldn't even
think of. For more information, see the Celiac Disease & Gluten-Free
Diet Support Page:
http://www.celiac.com

If you are diabetic, your diet must be monitored carefully. For more
information, please see the American Diabetes Association's Website
http://www.diabetes.org

There are numerous conditions that require special diets - if you have
any concerns about your health, please see your doctor. Research
provided on Google Answers is for general information only and is not
intended to substitute for proper medical advice.

I hope this helps. If there is any part of my answer that is unclear,
please ask for clarification before rating and I will try to help.

Thanks,
Cobrien-ga

search strategy:
balanced+diet
nutrition
food pyramid

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Request for Answer Clarification by adrianv-ga on 31 Oct 2002 15:59 PST

Can you be more specific?

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Clarification of Answer by cobrien-ga on 31 Oct 2002 16:00 PST

Oops, sorry, adrianv-ga - I seem to have omitted some words from my
answer. While others were unimportant, your name appears to have been
a casualty. My apologies.

cobrien-ga

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Clarification of Answer by cobrien-ga on 31 Oct 2002 16:27 PST

"choose a diet with most of the calories from grain products,
vegetables, fruits, lowfat milk products, lean meats, fish, poultry,
and dry beans. Choose fewer calories from fats and sweets."
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/dga/dga95/intro.html

How much you eat from each group depends on your age, gender and level
of activity. But for an adult, according to the food pyramid, each day
it should be at least 6 servings of grains and cereals; 3 from the
vegetable group and 2 from the fruit group; 2-3 servings from the
dairy group; and 5 ounces from the meat group. Fats, oils and sweets
should be used sparingly in the diet. The more calories you need, the
more servings you are allowed. Take a look at The Federal Citizen
Information Center Website:
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm

I hope this helps.

cobrien-ga

Thank-you.

There is a not insubstantial group of people who believe that the food
pyramid is, how shall we say, "not so good", usually complaining that
it weighs too heavily on the grains.

As always, a little bit of everything, not too much of anything.

Big Mac, French Fries and a Chocolate Shake.  All the food groups are
represented. =)

The food pyramid needs to be re-composed with less emphasis on grains
and heavily processed cereals, and more emphasis on meat, and fresh
vegetables.