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Summary
Food provides the energy and nutrients you need to be healthy. Nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water.
Healthy eating is not hard. The key is to
- Eat a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products
- Eat lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, and low-fat dairy products
- Drink lots of water
- Limit salt, sugar, alcohol, saturated fat, and trans fat in your diet
Saturated fats are usually fats that come from animals. Look for trans fat on the labels of processed foods, margarines, and shortenings.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Latest News
- Not All Plant Foods Are Equal (07/17/2017, HealthDay)
- Sound Sleep May Help You Junk the Junk Food (07/14/2017, HealthDay)
- Better Diet, Longer Life? (07/12/2017, HealthDay)
- More News on Nutrition
Diagnosis and Tests
- Prealbumin Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Related Issues
- Deciphering Media Stories on Diet: Nutrition in the News (Harvard School of Public Health)
- Diet Choices to Prevent Cancer (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Enjoy Your Food, but Eat Less: 10 Tips to Enjoying Your Meal (Department of Agriculture) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Fast Food: Tips for Choosing Healthier Options (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Healthy Cooking Techniques (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
-
How Do I Change Recipes?
(American Heart Association)
- PDF
- How Many Calories? Look at the Menu! (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
- Make Celebrations Fun, Healthy, and Active: 10 Tips to Creating Healthy, Active Events (Department of Agriculture) - PDF
- Making Healthy Choices at Fast Food Restaurants (American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Overview of Food Ingredients, Additives and Colors (Food and Drug Administration)
-
Plants: Partners in Health? Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and You
(National Institutes of Health)
- Smart Shopping for Veggies and Fruits (Department of Agriculture) Also in Spanish
- Smart Substitutions for Healthy Cooking (American Heart Association)
- Unexplained Weight Loss (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- What's So Super about Superfoods? (American Heart Association)
Specifics
- Add More Vegetables to Your Day: 10 Tips to Help You Eat More Vegetables (Department of Agriculture) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Eat Seafood Twice a Week: 10 Tips to Help You Eat More Seafood (Department of Agriculture) - PDF - In English and Spanish Also in Spanish
-
Eating Healthy Ethnic Food
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Focus on Fruits: 10 Tips to Eat More Fruits (Department of Agriculture) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Fresh, Frozen or Canned Fruits and Vegetables: All Can Be Healthy Choices! (American Heart Association)
- Healthy Breakfast: Quick, Flexible Options to Grab at Home (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Liven Up Your Meals with Vegetables and Fruits (Department of Agriculture) - PDF
- Make Better Beverage Choices: 10 Tips to Get Started (Department of Agriculture) - PDF
- MyPlate (Department of Agriculture)
- National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference - Find Nutrient Value of Common Foods by Nutrient (Department of Agriculture)
- Nutrition Facts for Cooked Seafood (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Nutrition Facts for Raw Fruits (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Nutrition Facts for Raw Vegetables (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Soy Foods and Health (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Health Check Tools
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Body Weight Planner
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Food-A-Pedia (Department of Agriculture)
-
Interactive Menu Planner
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
- Make Your Calories Count (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- MyPlate Daily Checklist (Department of Agriculture)
- Search Recipes (Department of Agriculture) Also in Spanish
- SuperTracker: My Foods. My Fitness. My Health. (Department of Agriculture)
Statistics and Research
- Caloric Intake from Fast Food among Adults: United States, 2007-2010 (National Center for Health Statistics)
- Consumption of Diet Drinks in the United States, 2009‒2010 (National Center for Health Statistics)
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutrition
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutrition Disorders
(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Body mass index is a practical preoperative nutritional index for...
- Article: Intervention study on school meal habits in Norwegian 10-12-year-old children.
- Article: Impact evaluation of different cash-based intervention modalities on child and...
- Nutrition -- see more articles
- Food additives -- see more articles
Reference Desk
-
Definitions of Health Terms: Nutrition
(National Library of Medicine)
Find an Expert
Teenagers
- Smarter snack ideas (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
Men
- Healthy Eating for Men (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
Women
- Healthy Eating for Women (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
- Nutrition Basics (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health)
Patient Handouts
- Calorie count - Fast food (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Eating extra calories when you are sick - adults (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Eating out (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Fast food tips (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Healthy grocery shopping (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- How to read food labels (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Managing your weight with healthy eating (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Nutrition Facts for Cooked Seafood (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Nutrition Facts for Raw Fruits (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Nutrition Facts for Raw Vegetables (Food and Drug Administration) - PDF
- Snacks for adults (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish