The Healthy Eating Plate for Kids is a visual guide to help educate and encourage children to eat well and keep moving. At a glance, the graphic shows examples of top foods to inspire healthy meal and snack selection, and emphasizes physical activity as part of the equation for staying healthy .
Build a healthy and balanced diet
Eating a variety of foods makes our meals interesting and tasty. It is also the key to a healthy, balanced diet because each food contains a unique blend of nutrients, both macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteinAnd fat) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). The Children’s Healthy Eating Plate provides a blueprint to help us make the best food choices.
In addition to filling half of our plate with colors vegetables And fruits (and choosing them as snacks), divide the other half between whole grains And healthy protein:
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- The more vegetables – and the more variety – the better.
- Potatoes and French fries are not considered vegetables due to their negative impact on blood sugar.
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- Eat lots of fruits of all colors.
- Choose whole fruit or sliced fruit (rather than fruit juice; limit fruit juice to one small glass per day).
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- Opt for whole grains or minimally processed whole grain foods. The less processed the grains, the better.
- Whole grains (whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, and foods containing them, such as whole grain pasta and 100% whole wheat bread) have a milder effect on blood sugar and insulin than white rice, bread, pizza crust and pasta. , and other refined grains.
Learn more about whole grains >
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- Choose beans and peas, nuts, seeds and other healthy plant-based protein options, as well as fish, eggsand poultry.
- Limit red meat (beef, pork, lamb) and avoid processed meats (bacon, cold cuts, hot dogs, sausages).
Learn more about healthy proteins >
It is also important to remember that fats are an essential part of our diet and what matters most is the type of fat we consume. We should regularly choose foods containing healthy unsaturated fats (like fish, nuts, seeds, and foods). healthy oils from plants), limit foods high in saturated fat (especially red meat) and avoid unhealthy trans fats (from partially hydrogenated oils):
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- Use healthy oils from plants like extra virgin olive, canola, corn, sunflower and peanut oil in cooking, on salads and vegetables and at the table.
- Limit butter to occasional use.
Learn more about healthy oils and fats >
Milkman foods are needed in smaller quantities than other foods on our plate:
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- Choose unflavored milkplain yogurtsmall amounts of cheeseand other unsweetened dairy products.
- Milk and other dairy products provide a convenient source of calcium and vitamin D, but optimal dairy intake has not yet been determined and research is still developing. For children consuming little or no milk, ask a doctor about possible calcium And Vitamin D supplementation.
Learn more about dairy products >
Water should be the drink of choice with every meal and snack, as well as when we are active:
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- Water is the best choice to quench our thirst. It’s also sugar-free and as easy to find as the nearest tap.
- Limit juice, which can contain as much sugar as soda, to one small glass per day and avoid sugary drinks like soda, fruit drinks and sports drinks, which provide lots of calories and almost no other nutrients. Over time, drinking sugary drinks can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other problems.
Learn more about water and choosing healthy drinks >
Finally, just like choosing the right foods, integrating physical activity into our day by stay active is part of the recipe for staying healthy:
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- Swap inactive “rest time” for “adjustment time.”
- Children and adolescents should aim for at least one hour of physical activity per day, and they don’t need fancy equipment or a gym. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest choosing unstructured activities for children, such as playing tug of war, or having fun using play equipment.
Learn more about staying active >
Overall, the main message is to focus on diet quality.
- THE type of carbohydrate in food is more important than the amount of carbohydrates in the dietbecause some carbohydrate sources, like vegetables (other than potatoes), fruits, whole grains, and beans, are much healthier than sugar, potatoes, and white flour foods.
- The healthy eating plate for children does not include sugary drinks, sweets and other junk foods. These are not everyday foods and should be eaten rarely, if ever.
- The Healthy Eating Plate for Kids encourages the use of healthy oils in place of other types of fats.
About the healthy eating plate for children
The Kids’ Healthy Eating Plate was created by nutrition experts at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, based on the best available science, to enhance the visual guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Health’s MyPlate icon. Agriculture. The Kid’s Plate reflects the same important messages as the Plate for healthy eatingfocused primarily on diet quality, but designed to make it easier to teach healthy eating behaviors to children.
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