Some Tips To Older Healthy On Foods

Two Plans for Healthy Eating

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) suggest two eating plans. Eating a variety of foods from each food group in either plan will help you get the nutrients you need.
One plan is called the USDA Food Guide (also known as MyPyramid). It suggests that people 50 or older choose healthy foods every day from the following:

• 　　Fruits—1-1/2 to 2-1/2 cups
• 　　What is the same as 1/2 cup of cut-up fruit? One medium whole fruit or ¼ cup of dried fruit
• 　　Vegetables—2 to 3-1/2 cups
• 　　What is the same as a cup of cut-up vegetables? Two cups of uncooked leafy vegetable
• 　　Grains—5 to 10 ounces

What is the same as an ounce of grains? One roll, a small muffin, a slice of bread, 1 cup of flaked, ready-to-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal
Meat/beans—5 to 7 ounces
What is the same as an ounce of meat, fish, or poultry? One egg, ¼ cup of cooked beans or tofu, ½ ounce of nuts or seeds, or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
Milk—3 cups of fat-free or low-fat milk
What is the same as 1 cup of milk? One cup of yogurt or 1-1/2 to 2 ounces of cheese. One cup of cottage cheese is the same as ½ cup of milk.
Your doctor may have suggested that you follow a certain diet because you have a health problem like heart disease or diabetes. Or, you might have been told to avoid eating certain foods because they can change how well your medicines work. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about foods you can eat instead.
Here’s a tip: Stay away from “empty calories.” These are foods and drinks with a lot of calories but not many nutrients—for example, chips, cookies, sodas, and alcohol.
The second eating plan is called the DASH Eating Plan. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Following this plan will help you lower your blood pressure. See the resources at the end of this Age Page for more information on DASH.

How Much Should I Eat?

How much you should eat depends on how active you are. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you gain weight.What are calories? Calories are a way to count how much energy is in food. You use the energy you get from food to do the things you need to do each day.
Just counting calories is not enough for making healthy choices. For example, a medium banana, 1 cup of flaked cereal, 2-1/2 cups of cooked spinach, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or 1 cup of 1% milk--all have roughly the same number of calories. But, the foods are different in many ways. Some have more of the nutrients you might need than others do. Milk gives you more calcium than a banana, and peanut butter gives you more protein than cereal. And a banana is likely to make you feel fuller than a tablespoon of peanut butter.
Here’s a tip: In the USDA Food Guide, eating the smallest amount suggested for each food group gives you about 1,600 calories. The largest amount has 2,800 calories.

• 　　How many calories do people over age 50 need each day?
• 　　A woman: who is not physically active needs about 1,600 calories
• 　　who is somewhat active needs about 1,800 calories
• 　　who has an active lifestyle needs about 2,000-2,200 calories
• 　　A man:who is not physically active needs about 2,000 calories
• 　　who is somewhat active needs about 2,200-2,400 calories
• 　　who has an active lifestyle needs about 2,400-2,800 calories

Here’s a tip: Get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most, if not all days of the week.