Eating For Health

One of the nutrients of concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is vitamin D because today so many Americans are not getting enough of this nutrient. Vitamin D has become a hot topic as so many researchers are finding out how very important this nutrient is to our health. Not too long ago vitamin D deficiency was rare. Children drank milk with their meals and played outside. Now many parents don't give their children milk with meals anymore and many keep their children inside all day. Not surprisingly, these are the type of children that could be at risk of Vitamin D deficiency. Adults who limit their intake of milk and who are mostly indoors may also be at risk. How much vitamin D do you need? Because so many Americans are at risk of vitamin D deficiency and so many important roles have been found for vitamin D , the Institute of Medicine r ecently increased the recommended intake for vitamin D. Age Recommended Vitamin D Intake 1 year – 70 years 600 IU

RIP Food Pyramid and good riddance. USDA has basically announced the death of their 20 year old, often maligned food pyramid and replaced it with a picture of a plate and a glass of milk. The new Choose My Plate nutritional guideline is very easy to understand and immediately tells the consumer what a balanced meal is and what types of foods to include in each meal. Take a look: This new guideline for eating clearly shows that half your plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables, about a fourth grains and about a fourth protein. It also clearly notes that dairy should be part of your meal. How much simpler can a dietary guideline to good eating get? Reactions to this new USDA healthy eating pictorial have been favorable. Jennifer Wilkins, PhD, RD from Cornell University notes: MyPyramid was poorly understood by the public and ineffective as the symbol of a healthful diet. Of course the title of her article says it even more clearly, "Good Riddance to My Pyramid"