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| home : how we can help : prevention, screening, & diagnostics : answers to cancer : diet & nutrition
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You can add variety to your diet by selecting different foods from each food group in the Food Guide Pyramid. This is important because different foods have different amounts and combinations of nutrients that may be important in the prevention of cancer. Scientists are still working on identifying the many different components in food that may give special health benefits. The best way to assure that your diet contains all of these protective nutrients is to eat many different foods within each of the different food groups of the Food Guide Pyramid and to get an adequate number of servings within each group.
For example,
- Try expanding variety in your diet by choosing fruits and vegetables that aren’t a part of your usual diet.
- Next time you go shopping, try to choose a fruit, a vegetable, a grain or a dried bean that is new to you.
Although there are many healthy choices available, trying new foods is sometimes hard; most of us tend to become creatures of routine. Changing your diet can be hard at first, but once you try some new foods or learn to prepare old foods in better ways, it can become a new habit. Stick with it! You will not only add a greater smorgasbord of nutrients to your diet, but eating and getting better nutrition will become more interesting, tasty and fun. Purchasing one new thing on each shopping trip is a good start to adding more variety to your diet. How about a mango, brown rice or brussel sprouts?
Don’t overlook the importance of diet to your health. The National Cancer Institute has estimated that at least 1/3 of all human cancers can be prevented by diet. There are many other diseases that also are strongly influenced by diet including cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis and diabetes.
THE FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID
The Food Guide Pyramid is an outline of what to eat each day based on the Dietary Guidelines. It's not a rigid prescription but a general guide that lets you choose a healthful diet that's right for you.
The Pyramid calls for eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients you need and at the same time the right amount of calories to maintain healthy weight.
Use the Pyramid to help you eat better every day...the Dietary Guidelines way. Start with plenty of breads, cereals, rice, pasta, vegetables, and fruits.
Remember to get at least 5 servings a day between the fruit and vegetable groups.
Add 2-3 servings from the milk group and 2-3 servings from the meat group. Remember to go easy on fats, oils, and sweets, the foods in the small tip of the Pyramid.
What Counts as One Serving?
The amount of food that counts as one serving is listed below. If you eat a larger portion, count it as more than 1 serving. For example, a dinner portion of spaghetti would count as 2 or 3 servings of pasta.
Be sure to eat at least the lowest number of servings from the five major food groups listed below. You need them for the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein they provide.
Just try to pick the lowest fat choices from the food groups. No specific serving size is given for the fats, oils, and sweets group because the message is: USE SPARINGLY.
Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese
1 cup of milk or yogurt
1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese
2 ounces of processed cheese
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts
2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
1/2 cup of cooked dry beans
1 egg
2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as 1 ounce of lean meat
Vegetable
1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw
3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Fruit
1 medium apple, banana, orange
1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
3/4 cup of fruit juice
Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta
1 slice of bread 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal
1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta
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