Week One – Canada’s Food Guide

The overall goal of Canada’s Food Guide is to:

• Meet your needs for vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
• Reduce your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis.
• Contribute to your overall health and vitality.

The daily nutritional recommendations have been adjusted to reflect nutritional needs based on gender and age. The revised edition of Canada’s Food Guide outlines the nutritional recommendations for:

• children (which are further sub-dived into ages 2-3, 4-8 and 9-13)
• teens (ages 14-18 years)
• adults (classified under the ages of 19-50 and greater than 51 years)

Another notable difference includes the greater emphasis placed on fruits and vegetables. If you recall, the previous food guide listed Grain Products as Canadian’s primary focus; where as the current guide changes its focus to include Fruits and Vegetables. Canada’s Food Guide has also made an effort to include a larger variety of foods that had not been previous captured in the guide.

Also included in this guide is an emphasis on physical activity. It recommends building 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity into daily life for adults and at least 90 minutes a day for children and youth. In the event that you are not currently incorporating physical activity into your daily life, you are recommended to start slowly by adding up exercise periods of at least 10 minutes at a time for adults and five minutes at a time for children and youth.

Serving Sizes

When discussing serving sizes, it is simply a closer look at how much food is being recommended. Some examples may include:

• 25 mL fresh, frozen or canned vegetable or fruit 100% juice
• 250 mL leafy raw vegetables or salad
• 1 piece of fruit

• 1 slice (35 g) bread or ½ bagel (45 g)
• half of a pita (35 g) or ½ tortilla (35 g)
• 125 mL cooked rice, pasta, or couscous
• 30 g cold cereal or 175 mL hot cereal

• 250 mL milk or fortified soy beverage
• 175 g yogurt
• 50 g cheese

• 75 g/125 mL cooked fish, shellfish, poultry or lean meat
• 175 mL cooked beans
• 2 eggs
• 30 mL peanut butter

To view the recommended servings for your age group and gender, visit Health Canada’s website to view the Food Guide.

Making Healthy Choices

The following are some suggestions to keep in mind the next time you’re at the grocery store or eating out.

• Eat at least one dark green (such as broccoli or spinach) and one orange vegetable (such as carrots or sweet potatoes) each day.
• Choose vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt.
• Enjoy vegetables steamed, baked or stir-fried instead of deep fried.
• Opt for vegetables and fruit more often than juice.

• Eat a variety of whole grains such as barley, brown rice, oats, and wild rice.
• Enjoy whole grain breads, oatmeal and whole wheat pasta.
• Choose grain products that are low in fat, sugar and salt.
• Make wise choices – read the Nutrition Facts table on the label.
• When adding sauces or spreads, use small amounts.

• Drink skim, 1% or 2% milk each day.
• Have 500 mL of milk every day for adequate vitamin D.
• Drink fortified soy beverages if you do not drink milk.
• Select lower fat milk alternatives.
• Compare the Nutrition Facts table on yogurts or cheeses.

• Have meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu often.
• Eat at least two Food Guide Servings of fish each week. Choose fish such as char, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines and trout.
• Select lean meat and alternatives prepared with little or no added fat or salt.
• Trim the visible fat from meats. Remove the skin on poultry.
• Use cooking methods such as roasting, baking or poaching that require little or no added fat.
• If you eat luncheon meats, sausages or pre-packaged meats, choose those lower in salt and fat.

Source:
Health Canada