Know your food numbers for National Nutrition Month

The month of March is known for many things: March Madness, the beginning of spring, and St. Patrick’s Day, to name a few. Did you also know that March is National Nutrition Month? As March brings the hope of warmer weather, what better way to celebrate than by improving our nutrition and getting ready for swimsuit season.

MyPlate is the new food guide that tells us our plate should be half fruits and vegetables, with the other half containing something from the protein group and something from the grain group (with a little more grain than protein). We should also include something from the dairy group with our meals, like a glass of milk. However, what you cannot tell by looking at the food guide is how much of each food group you should eat.

Our food intake depends on our gender, age and level of physical activity. For example, a man who is 40 years old and gets 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity a day should consume about nine ounces of grain in a day. A woman who is 40 and gets 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity should consume about six ounces of grain. If you get less than 30 minutes of exercise, you do not need to consume as much food.

The new food recommendations emphasize fruits and vegetables to encourage getting more fiber, vitamins and minerals in our diets. An old recommendation used to be to get five servings a day, but depending on the three factors listed above, adults should receive about three and a half to six cups of fruits and vegetables daily.

To know exactly how much food from each food group you should consume based on your age, gender and physical activity, visit www.choosemyplate.gov or http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/fn1500.pdf. ChooseMyPlate.gov also has tools to help with meal planning, goal setting, and tracking your food and physical activity.

For more information on this topic, or for assistance with figuring out your daily recommendations, you can contact Christina Rittenbach, Stutsman County Extension agent, at 252-9030 or christina.rittenbach@ndsu.edu

Tags: life, food