Diet planning principles

Subtitle
Planning a Healthy Diet
• Principles and Guidelines
• Most of the foods we eat, provide several nutrients. So to make a wiser
diet plan, it is prudent to select a combination of foods that deliver a
full contingent of nutrients for good health.
• Our major focus should be on selecting foods that will deliver all the
essential nutrients without excessive energy intake.
• Food choices made over years influence the body’s health, and
consistently poor choices increase the risks of developing chronic
diseases.
• Diet-planning principles and dietary guidelines are key concepts to
keep in mind whenever selecting foods
Diet-Planning Principles
Six Basic Diet-Planning Principles:
• ABCDMV planning
• Adequacy
• Balance
• kCalorie (energy) control
• Nutrient Density
• Moderation
• Variety
Diet-Planning Principles
• Adequacy: means that the diet should provide sufficient energy and
enough of all the nutrients required by the healthy people.
• Balance: The art of balance means use enough - but not too much - of
each type of food while planning a diet. • e.g. meat, fish and poultry are
rich in iron but poor in calcium and dietary fiber; milk and milk
products are rich in calcium but poor in iron and dietary fiber.
• Grains, fruits and vegetables are rich in many vitamins, minerals and
dietary fiber but low in good quality proteins. Consuming any one food
may results in deficiency of a nutrient lacking in that food, but create a
balance among all these foods to provide all essential nutrients in your
diet.
• Balance in the diet helps to ensure adequacy
Diet-Planning Principles
• Kcalorie (Energy) Control: It is the management of food energy
intake. So, it is very important to design an adequate, balanced diet
without overeating. For this purpose, the basic rule is to select
foods of high nutrient density.
• Nutrient Density: It is measure of the nutrients a food provides
relative to the energy it provides.
• Nutrient density promotes adequacy and kcalorie control. The
more the nutrients and the fewer kcalories, the higher is the
nutrient density of food.
• Select foods that supply the most nutrients but the least amount of
food energy (kcalories).
Diet-Planning Principles
• Moderation: is the key for good diet planning and means
providing enough but not too much of a nutrient.
• Moderation contributes to adequacy, balance and kcalorie
control.
• Although, foods rich in fat sugar provide greater enjoyment and
energy, but these provide relatively few nutrients.
• So, eat sparingly foods that are rich in fat and sugar, and select
foods that are low in fat and sugar.
• Moderation contributes to adequacy, balance, and kcalorie
control.
Diet-Planning Principles
• Variety: means eating a wide selection of foods within and
among the major food groups.
• A diet may have all the nutrients but may still lack variety, if
a person eats same foods day after day.
• One can choose among various fruits, vegetables, meat,
poultry, eggs, fish dishes to create variety.
• Select foods form each of the food groups daily and vary
choices within each group.
Diet-Planning Guides

• Food Group Plans: is a diet-planning tool that sorts foods of

similar origin and nutrient content into groups and then
specify that people should eat certain numbers of servings
from each of these groups to create a balanced diet.
• Beauty lies in its simplicity and flexibility. e.g., milk can be
substitute for cheese (same group).
• USDA's Daily Food Guide, a food group plan: It assigns all
foods to five major food groups.
Diet-Planning Guides
• Recommended Servings: all food groups offer valuable nutrients, and
people should make selections from each group daily.
• The recommended numbers of daily servings are expressed as ranges:
– 6 to 11 servings of breads and cereals.
– 3 to 5 servings of vegetables.
– 2 to 4 servings of fruits.
– 2 to 3 servings of meats and meat alternates.
– 2 servings of milk and milk products (Older children, young adults, women who
are pregnant or breastfeeding, and older adults are advised to have 3 servings).
• Foods that are high in fat, sugar, or alcohol provide energy, but too few
nutrients. Should be used sparingly.
Diet-Planning Guides
• Miscellaneous foods: Some foods do not fit any of the food
groups.
• Examples includes salad dressings, jams, etc.
• Miscellaneous foods not high in kcalories, such as spices,
herbs, coffee, tea, and diet soft drinks, can be used freely.
Food Guide Pyramid
• A graphic presentation of the Daily Food Guide. Designed to
emphasize variety, moderation, and proportions.
• The relative size of each section represents the number of
daily servings recommended.
• The broad base at the bottom conveys the message that grains
should be abundant and form the foundation of a healthy
diet.
• Fruits and vegetables appear at the next level, showing that
they have a slightly less prominent, but still have important
place in diet. 
Food Guide Pyramid
• Meats and milks appear in a smaller band near the top
contributing valuable nutrients, such as protein, vitamins,
and minerals.
• Fats, oils and sweets occupy the tiny apex, indicating that
they should be used sparingly.
• Alcoholic beverages do not appear in the Pyramid, but they
too should be limited.
• Items such as spices, coffee, tea, and diet soft drinks provide
few, if any, nutrients, but can add flavor and pleasure to meals
when used judiciously.
Food Guide Pyramid

• Tiny dots and triangles are sprinkled over the food groups to
represent naturally occurring and added fats and added sugars,
respectively.
• The Daily Food Guide plan and Food Guide Pyramid emphasize
grains, vegetables, and fruits – all plant foods.
• Some 75% of a day’s serving should come from these three
groups.
• This strategy helps all people obtain complex carbohydrates,
fibers, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals with little fat.
5 BASIC FOOD GROUPS
• There are five basic food groups:
• grains;
• vegetables;
• fruit;
• meat, fish, and beans (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs,
nuts, and meat alternatives); and
• milk (which includes yogurt and cheese).
• The key to a balanced diet is to recognize that grains
(especially whole grains), vegetables and fruits are needed in
greater proportion than foods from the meat, fish & beans
and milk groups. This principle is illustrated by the
Balanced Plate for Health diagram that is used in several Eat
Well & Keep Moving lessons.
GRAINS
• Basic nutrients from the grains category are carbohydrate, fiber, and some vitamins
and minerals.
• •In the grains group, the healthiest choices are whole grains, the less processed the
better. Whole grains contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals; the refining process
strips away many of these beneficial nutrients. Even though refined grains (such as
white bread, white rice, and white pasta) are fortified with vitamins and minerals,
fortification does not replace all of the lost nutrients.
• •Choose foods that list a whole grain as the first ingredient. Examples of whole
grains include whole wheat bread, oatmeal, whole-grain crackers and breakfast
cereals, whole wheat pasta, and other whole grains such as barley, brown rice, and
plain popcorn.
• •Look at the % Daily Value (% DV) for fiber on the Nutrition Facts label. The %
Daily Value tells you whether a food is low or high in a nutrient. Wholegrain foods
have a higher % DV for fiber.
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
• Vegetables and fruits provide vitamins, minerals, and
carbohydrate. In general they promote overall good health.
Eat 5 or more servings of vegetables and fruits every day;
eating more is better.
VEGETABLES
• Vegetables (e.g., broccoli, spinach, and carrots) provide
vitamins A and C and folate as well as iron and magnesium.
They are low in saturated and trans fat and high in fiber.
• Choose vegetables in a rainbow of colors, especially dark
green (e.g., broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce, bok choy,
kale) and orange (e.g., carrots, sweet potatoes, winter
squash).
FRUITS
• Fruits (e.g., oranges, cantaloupe, and strawberries) supply vitamins A
and C as well as potassium. They are also low in saturated and trans fat
and high in fiber.
• Choose whole fruits or sliced fruits rather than fruit juices, since they
contain the most fiber; if eating canned fruit, choose fruit canned in
juice (rather than fruit canned in syrup).
• One serving of fruit is 1 medium apple, banana, or orange; 1/2 cup
chopped, cooked, or canned fruit; or a small glass of 100% fruit juice.
• Make sure to limit your consumption of 100% fruit juice to no more than
8 ounces per day; juice has vitamins and minerals, but it is naturally
high in fruit sugar (fructose) and it lacks the fiber found in whole fruit.
MEAT, FISH AND BEANS
• Foods in the meat, fish, and beans group supply protein, B
vitamins, iron, and zinc. They are primarily responsible for
building and repairing muscles and tissues, digesting
nutrients, and improving immunity and blood quality.
Choose dry beans and peas, fish, poultry, nuts, and high-
protein vegetarian alternatives more often than meat; when
eating meat, choose lean cuts; remove the skin from poultry
to reduce saturated fat.
MILK
• Dairy products are the best sources of calcium. They supply
protein, riboflavin, and vitamins A and D (if fortified). This
group helps promote strong bones and healthy teeth.
• Choose plain low-fat (1%) or nonfat milk, yogurt, and other
dairy foods. People who cannot drink milk can choose
lactose-free milk or calciumfortified plain soy milk or rice
milk.
COMBINATION AND PROCESSED FOODS
• Combination foods contain foods from more than one food
group (e.g., a brown rice and bean burrito with low-fat
cheese: the tortilla and brown rice are in the grains group;
the beans are in the meat, fish, and beans group; and the
low-fat cheese is in the milk group). Processed foods are
those prepared and packaged by manufacturers. Salt and
other sodium-containing ingredients are often used in food
processing
A BALANCED DIET
• Choosing foods from all the food groups each day and choosing a
variety of foods within each food group will help you meet your
nutritional requirements.
• It will also make your diet more interesting. To make the best
choices within each food group, remember the Balanced Plate for
Health and these guidelines from the
• Principles of Healthy Living:
– •Eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day (especially eat
darkgreen and orange vegetables).
– •Choose whole-grain foods and limit foods and beverages with added sugar.
– •Choose healthy fat, limit saturated fat, and avoid trans fat.