See Also
1. Nutrition for Athletes
2. Mediterranean Diet
Standard Food Pyramid
1. Fiber: 6 to 11 servings per day
  1. Bread
  2. Cereal
  3. Rice or Pasta
2. Vegetables: 3-5 servings/day
3. Fruits: 2-4 servings/day
4. Dairy: 2 to 3 servings per day
  1. Milk
  2. Yogurt
  3. Cheese
5. Protein: 2-3 servings per day
  1. Meat
  2. Poultry
  3. Fish
  4. Dry beans
  5. Eggs
  6. Nuts
6. Fats, oils, and sweets should be used only sparingly
Choose food predominately from plant sources
1. Eat 5 or more servings of fruit or vegetable per day
  1. Recommendations
    1. One serving Fruit equivalents
      1. One medium apple, banana, or orange
      2. Chopped, cooked, or canned fruit (1/2 cup)
      3. Fruit juice (3/4 cup)
    2. One serving Vegetable equivalents
      1. Raw leafy vegetables (1 Cup)
      2. Cooked, chopped or raw vegetables (1/2 Cup)
      3. Vegetable juice (3/4 Cup)
  2. Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables
    1. Decreased risk of Colon Cancer
    2. Decreased risk of Gastric Cancer
2. Eat other foods from plant sources
  1. Recommendations
    1. One serving Grains/Cereal/Pasta
      1. Bread (1 slice)
      2. Ready to eat cereal (1 ounce)
      3. Cooked cereal, rice or pasta (1/2 cup)
    2. One serving Beans and Nuts
      1. Cooked dry beans (1/2 cup) preferred over nuts
      2. Peanut butter (2 tablespoons)
      3. Nuts (1/3 cup)
  2. Benefits of Dietary Fiber
    1. Decreased risk of Colon Cancer
    2. Water insoluble (wheat bran) fiber may be better
Limit intake of high fat foods (especially animal fat)
1. Choose foods low in fat
  1. Recommendations
    1. Replace fatty foods
    2. Eat fruits, vegetables, grains and beans
    3. Eat smaller portions
    4. Select non-fat/low-fat milk and dairy products
    5. When eating prepared foods, choose low fat
  2. Risks Dietary Fat (esp saturated, Polyunsaturated)
    1. Increased Colon Cancer risk
    2. Increased Prostate Cancer risk
2. Limit consumption of meats (especially high fat meat)
  1. Recommendations: 1 serving of meat per day
    1. Lean meat (2-3 ounces)
    2. Poultry (2-3 ounces)
    3. Fish (2-3 ounces)
  2. General
    1. Select lean cuts, and smaller portions of meat
    2. Choose beans, seafood and poultry
      1. Instead OF beef, pork and lamb
    3. Select baked and broiled meats
      1. Instead of fried, charcoal-broiled, or smoked
  3. Risks of Salt-cured, pickled, or smoked meats
    1. Esophageal Cancer
    2. Gastric Cancer
Be physically active and maintain a healthy weight
1. Moderate activity for 30 minutes on most days
2. Maintain a body weight within 20% of ideal
Limit or abstain from Alcoholic beverages
1. Risks associated with Alcohol use
  1. Oropharyngeal cancer
  2. Esophageal Cancer
  3. Hepatocellular Carcinoma
  4. Breast Cancer
Resources
1. Food Pyramid
  1. http://www.mypyramid.gov
Reference
1. (1996) CA Cancer J Clin 46:325

Navigation Tree

Please see the Terms and Conditions. Please also see the privacy statement regarding advertising on this page. Although access to this page is not restricted, the information found here is intended for use by medical providers. Patients should address specific medical concerns with their physicians.

This page was written by Scott Moses, MD. This page was last revised before 5/10/08, prior to consistent tracking of revision date. This page was last published on 5/10/2008. Please send comments and questions to the editor. Contact information may be found on the page About the Family Practice Notebook. These pages are best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0.