Nutrition Getting the Right Stuff

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Today's simple rules for good nutrition are a lot easier to follow and a lot more sensible than those of even a few years ago. And they've probably changed a lot since you were in school.

Remember those brightly colored pictures of cholesterol-choked red meat, glasses of whole milk and hunks of high-fat Swiss cheese that cheerfully adorned our grade-school classrooms? The Basic Four food groups were around for decades. They are the dietary guidelines we grew up--and grew fat--with.

Today all that advice to eat four-plus servings a day of whole-milk products (ice cream? cheese? sugar-packed puddings?) and two or more servings a day of meat (which could conceivably mean a 12-ounce porterhouse steak) seems laughable. In fact, it's downright frightening in light of what we currently know about eating right.

Back in those days, dietitians were mainly concerned about people getting all the nutrients their bodies needed, according to Dianne Odland, acting director of the Office of Government Affairs and Public Information for the Human Nutrition Information Service at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"It wasn't until the '70s that we began to realize that there's more to food than getting nutrients, that there are some components of food we shouldn't get too much of," she explains. "There is now a greater awareness of the diet-disease connection."

Using the Food Guide Pyramid

Finally, in April 1992, after about $1 million worth of research and a good deal of tinkering, the USDA finally unveiled what we now know as the Food Guide Pyramid.

The pyramid isn't perfect. It doesn't, for example, make mention of low-fat or low-sodium versions of foods within each category, or take health restrictions such as diabetes into account. But it has brought Americans into a new and healthier age. With its emphasis on grains and breads, fruits and veggies, and its deemphasis of fats and oils, sugar and alcohol, the pyramid comes quite close to ensuring those who follow it a sound and varied diet.

"The Food Guide Pyramid emphasizes the fact that a healthy diet is a balancing act, that no one food group can stand alone," says registered dietitian Gayle Shockey Hoxter, a nutritionist from Murrieta, California. "Suddenly, looking at the Food Guide Pyramid, it becomes painfully clear that if you've ever been on an all-fruit diet or a protein-only diet, you were playing fast and loose with your health."

You can make especially good use of the Food Guide Pyramid if you're trying to eat right and lose weight at the same time, says Hoxter. Use it as a basic guideline, she suggests, with these additional guidelines.

Think condiments. It's time to stop thinking of meat and dairy products as the main course. Instead, treat them like condiments, serving smaller portions along with complex carbohydrates--grains and breads, fruits and vegetables.

Think thin. Within each category, select reduced-calorie, low-fat or sugar-free versions. Within the Meat/Poultry/Fish/Dry Beans/Eggs and Nuts category, choose the very leanest cuts of meat and poultry, and use eggs in moderation, egg substitutes or the whites of the egg only.

Watch those servings. Lean toward the low end of the recommended number of daily servings, for instance, women who are trying to drop a few pounds should have two daily servings of dairy products and six servings from the Bread/Cereal/Rice/Pasta category.

Love those veggies. Do not go below the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. (Remember vegetables are lower in calories than fruit.)

Getting Your Fair Share When you're trying to lose weight, you have to be especially careful that you're getting enough nutrients. But exactly how much is enough? Following are the most current U.S. RDI (Reference Daily Intake) standards for the major vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Nutrient Daily Value Vitamins Vitamin A 5,000 IU Thiamin 1.5 mg. Riboflavin 1.7 mg. Niacin 20 mg. Vitamin B6 2 mg. Vitamin B12 6 mcg. Biotin 0.3 mg. Folic acid 0.4 mg. Pantothenic acid 10 mg. Vitamin C 60 mg. Vitamin D 400 IU Vitamin E 30 IU Minerals Calcium 1 g. Copper 2 mg. Iodine 150 mcg. Iron 18 mg. Magnesium 400 mg. Phosphorus 1 g. Zinc 15 mg.

Get the Nutrients You Need

Whatever dietary guideline you choose to follow as you strive to shed pounds, keep in mind that losing weight without maintaining basic nutrition is foolish and potentially harmful. As registered dietitian Jayne Hurley, associate nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., says, "You can lose weight on any diet, but you must first follow a healthy way of eating."

To ensure maximum health while dieting, heed the following precautions.

Be safe, not sorry. "I really believe in taking one daily vitamin/mineral supplement as a margin of safety, because people have such erratic eating patterns," says Donna Dispas-Gebert, director of nutrition services at the Benjamin Franklin Weight Management and Metabolism Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. "And in wintertime, when vegetables and fruits are sitting on a truck for longer periods of time and lose some of their nutrients, a supplement is an especially good idea."

Pay attention to iron. Any woman consuming fewer than 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day--and that means most women trying to lose weight--is at risk for an iron deficiency, warns Dispas-Gebert. "Women have a tendency to lose some iron during menstruation anyway, and then if there's a calorie-restricted diet on top of that, they probably won't get their daily 18 milligrams of iron," she says.

You might want to make sure that any vitamin/mineral supplement you take has an extra boost of iron. Better still, work on increasing your dietary iron by eating lean cuts of meat, chicken or fish, as well as iron-enriched cereals.

Make sure you get enough calcium. Another potential nutrient deficiency for all women and particularly dieting women: calcium. Says Dispas-Gebert: "You need about 1,000 milligrams a day. And if you're not consuming about 2,000 calories a day or if you have an allergy to milk products, you probably won't get sufficient amounts of calcium."

Women past the age of menopause in particular, but even women as young as 35, need substantial doses of calcium to head off osteoporosis. As a result, many nutritionists and doctors recommend even higher dosages than found in the Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs)--up to as much as 1,500 milligrams. And since it's virtually impossible for women to get all the calcium they need solely from their diet, supplements are crucial.

Dispas-Gebert feels that "multipreparations" don't contain enough calcium to do the trick, so she suggests taking calcium carbonate, which is calcium in its most absorbable form. "Oscal or Tums are good," she says.

Don't skimp on protein. While focusing on cutting calories, you musn't neglect dietary protein, warns Lila Wallis, M.D., founder and first president of the National Council on Women's Health. If any dieter is at risk for a protein deficiency, it's someone who's on an excessively low-calorie diet--below 1,000 calories or so a day (of course, you don't ever want to go that low). When you eat too little protein, according to Dr. Wallis, you may lose muscle and bone. "A very low protein diet and the resulting potassium deficiency may affect heart muscle contractility," she says. "This condition is the most common cause of fatality in people on a very low caloric diet."

Get the right fats. While the watchword today is low-fat, the danger is that some dieters may attempt to cut all fat from their diet, says registered dietitian Judy E. Marshel, director of Health Resources of Great Neck, New York. This practice can lead to what's called essential fatty acid deficiency, she explains.

"When you see ridges in your fingernails or if your hair starts falling out, those could be signs of essential fatty acid deficiency," she explains. "You need some omega-3 and omega-6 acids, found in fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, and in vegetable oils. If you choose your food wisely, you can still follow a low-fat diet, but you must include some of these foods."

And while we're on the subject of vegetable oils, as an added bonus they can also help lower cholesterol levels and are good sources of vitamin E--a nutrient that experts say can help boost the body's immunity to certain diseases.

Drink lots of water. If have an eye on your waistline, then surely you've been stepping up your exercise routine. This may mean you're at risk for yet another deficiency: water. Luckily, this one's got a simple solution: Drink up!

"Most Americans are pretty dehydrated in general," says Dispas-Gebert. "Water constitutes 55 to 60 percent of total body weight, and the typical American working out 20 to 40 minutes, three times a week, needs about 64 ounces of water a day to maintain that level."

What about sports drinks like Gatorade? Do they have any special benefit plain old water doesn't? Sports drinks contain electrolytes, including potassium, sodium and chloride, that can be depleted during vigorous activity. We're talking really vigorous activity that makes you sweat a lot. In that case you might want a sports drink to replace some potassium, says Dispas-Gebert. "For the average person, there are enough electrolytes in water to compensate for what might be lost," she adds.

Climbing the Great Pyramid It looks simple enough--a pyramid with four sections and the major food groups listed as servings. Eat all the servings listed on the pyramid each and every day, and voilà, you've got a road map to good nutrition. But what counts as a serving? Here's an easy guide to serving size for each type of food. BREAD, CEREAL, RICE AND PASTA GROUP 1 slice bread 1/2 cup cooked rice or pasta 1/2 cup cooked cereal 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal VEGETABLE GROUP 1/2 cup chopped raw or cooked vegetables 1 cup leafy raw vegetables FRUIT GROUP 1 piece fruit or melon wedge 3/4 cup juice 1/2 cup canned fruit 1/4 cup dried fruit MILK, YOGURT AND CHEESE GROUP 1 cup milk or yogurt 11/2 to 2 ounces cheese MEAT, POULTRY, FISH, DRY BEANS, EGGS AND NUTS GROUP 21/2 to 3 ounces cooked lean meat, poultry or fish Count 1/2 cup cooked beans, or 1 egg, or 2 tablespoons peanut butter as 1 ounce of lean meat FATS, OILS AND SWEETS Limit calories from these, especially if you need to lose weight. How many servings do you need each day? Children, Teen Women and Some Girls, Active Teen Boys and Older Adults Women and Most Men Active Men (about 1,600 calories*) (about 2,200 calories*) (about 2,800 calories*) Breads 6 9 11 Vegetables 3 4 5 Fruits 2 3 4 Milk 2­3Ý 2­3Ý 2­3Ý Meats 2 (5 oz. total) 2 (6 oz. total) 3 (7 oz. total) *These are the calorie levels if you choose low-fat, lean foods from the five major food groups and use foods from the Fats, Oils and Sweets group sparingly. ÝWomen who are pregnant or breast-feeding, teenagers and young adults to age 24 need three servings.