- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
News About Nutrition
9 Recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
By Melissa Granberry
Confused about what is healthy? Carbs or calories? Protein or pasta? With new diet and exercise programs constantly popping up, it's easy to see why Americans are so baffled. But help is on the way. Following are 9 key messages presented to the government by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee as recommendations for the federal food pyramid. Expert dietitians, chefs and moms have added their "two cents" on how to implement these findings and keep our families fit:
Why should we eat from all of the food groups? According to the Committee, Americans' nutrient intakes are inadequate. Both adults and children need to increase levels of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium and fiber.
For parents of small children, this first guideline may be the most challenging. Many preschoolers have four or five foods they will eat – anything else on their plate warrants a tantrum.
Lynn Ostrowski, director of health programs at Health New England and the driving force behind the award-winning tool kit Seymour's Weight Loss Challenge (Hnestore.com), suggests that eating a well-balanced diet is a family effort. "Parents need to be models," Ostrowski says. "If a child is encouraged to eat fruit and vegetables for snacks, parents should be eating these too."
Adults and children are in the middle of an obesity epidemic. The government's advisors say that calorie intake and physical activity go hand in hand to control body weight. In other words, calories consumed should equal or be less than calories expended.