Chapter 8 Making Healthy Choices 145 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. from foods they consume away from home. For this reason, efforts to improve eating patterns require changes at school, on the job, in the community, and by the food industry as well as at home. MyPlate To help people with their diet choices, the USDA created fl exible patterns for healthy eating. These patterns outline daily amounts of foods to eat from fi ve major food groups. The recommended daily intakes are determined by a person’s calorie needs. Eating the suggested amounts of foods from each group daily will provide people with required nutrients. The USDA’s food guidance system is called MyPlate. The ChooseMyPlate.gov website offers a variety of information and links to help people make healthy eating choices. A key element of the MyPlate system is its simple visual message. The MyPlate icon helps people visualize how the food groups fi t together to build a healthy plate at mealtime (Figure 8.8). Choosing nutrient-dense forms of foods from each food group will allow people to stay within their calorie limits. Grains Group The grains group includes such foods as breads, cereals, rice, and pasta. These foods are excellent low-fat sources of complex carbohy- drates, which supply energy. They are also good sources of B vitamins and iron. Whole-grain foods are high in fi ber as well. Amounts of foods in this group are counted in ounce-equivalents. This term refers to a portion size that is equal to a one-ounce (28 g) serving. MyPlate divides this group into two subgroups—whole grains and refi ned grains. Whole grains include whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, and brown rice. Refi ned grains include foods like white bread, enriched pasta, and white rice. People should make at least half their daily grain food choices from the whole-grains subgroup. Vegetable Group The vegetable group includes any vegetable or 100-percent vegetable juice. Vegetables may be raw or cooked canned, frozen, or dried and may be whole, cut up, or mashed. These foods are good sources of vitamins, minerals, and fi ber. USDA Figure 8.8 The MyPlate icon shows a place setting to illustrate the proportions of the five food groups that should make up a healthy diet. Health and Wellness Make Half Your Grains Whole Whole grains, such as brown rice, oatmeal, barley, and whole wheat, are good sources of dietary fi ber. Getting enough fi ber in the diet helps keep bowels working properly. Fiber also helps people feel full after eating, so they may be less likely to overeat. Refi ned-grain products do not provide all the nutrients and fi ber found in whole grains. Many refi ned-grain products, such as cakes and cookies, are also high in solid fats and added sugars. Health experts recommend people get at least half their daily grain needs from whole-grain sources. Look for whole-grain ingredients to appear fi rst on ingredient lists for bread and cereal products. (Be aware that whole-wheat fl our refers to a whole-grain ingredient but wheat fl our does not.) Choose a variety of grain foods to receive the most health benefi ts.