Seven Simple Guidelines for Eating Well

1) Eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you need.

2) Balance the food you eat with physical activity. Combining physical activity with a healthy diet is the best way to maintain a healthy body weight.

3) Include plenty of grain products, vegetables, and fruits in your diet. These foods provide vitamins, minerals and fiber, as well as other non-nutrients that may protect you against cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

4) Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol to reduce you risk for heart disease, cancer, and high blood pressure.

5) Limit sugars in your diet. Added sugars have no other nutrients, and when consumed in excess, they crowd healthier foods out of your diet.

6) If you are salt-sensitive, moderate salt (sodium) in your diet to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure.

7) If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. Alcohol supplies calories but few or no nutrients. Drinking alcohol is the cause of many health problems and accidents and can lead to addiction. Moderate alcohol consumption is defined as no more than 2 drinks a day for men and no more than 1 drink a day for women. Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant should avoid alcoholic beverages altogether.