Your food matters at 50

Healthy habits like eating well and being physically active can help you reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Here are some tips to get you started:

■■ Eat many different colors and types of vegetables and fruits.

■ ■ Make sure at least half your grains are whole grains.

■ ■ Limit saturated fat (found mostly in butter, beef fat, and coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils) and trans fats (found in processed foods like store-bought baked

goods, pizza, and margarine).

■ ■ Eat “good” (poly- and monounsaturated) fats, like those found in seeds, nuts, avocados,

and fatty fish like salmon. Any fats added in cooking should come from plant-based oils

like olive or canola oils.

■■ Eat 8 ounces of seafood per week. Certain fish, like salmon, shad, and trout, contain less mercury than large fish, like tuna. Mercury can be harmful.

Make Smart Food Choices

Eating a variety of foods from each food group will help you get the nutrients you

need. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of

Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services describes healthy eating

patterns. These guidelines are flexible to help you choose a diet of nutritious foods

and drinks that you like, that are available in your area, and that fit your budget.

The Dietary Guidelines suggests that people 50 or older choose foods every day from the following:

Vegetables—2 to 3 cups

What is the same as a cup of cut-up vegetables? Two cups of uncooked leafy

vegetables.

Fruits—1½ to 2 cups

What is the same as a half cup of cut- up fruit? A fresh 2-inch peach or a half

cup of grapes.

Grains—5 to 8 ounces

What is the same as an ounce of grains? A small bagel; a slice of whole grain bread;

a cup of flaked, ready-to-eat cereal; or a half cup of cooked rice or pasta.

2Protein foods—5 to 6½ ounces

What is the same as an ounce of meat,fish, or poultry? One egg, ¼ cup of cooked

beans or tofu, a half ounce of nuts or seeds, or 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.

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