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Eating Healthy Foods: Care Instructions

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With every meal, you can make healthy food choices. Try to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products. This can help you get the right balance of nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Small changes add up over time. You can start by adding one healthy food to your meals each day.

Try to make half your plate fruits and vegetables, one-fourth whole grains, and one-fourth lean proteins. Try including dairy with your meals.

Eat more fruits and vegetables. Try to have them with most meals and snacks.

Foods for healthy eating

Fruits

  • These can be fresh, frozen, canned, or dried.
  • Try to choose whole fruit rather than fruit juice.
  • Eat a variety of colors.

Vegetables

  • These can be fresh, frozen, canned, or dried.
  • Beans, peas, and lentils count too.

Whole grains

  • Choose whole-grain breads, cereals, and noodles.
  • Try brown rice.

Lean proteins

  • These can include lean meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
  • You can also have tofu, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, and seeds.

Dairy

  • Try milk, yogurt, and cheese.
  • Choose low-fat or fat-free when you can.
  • If you need to, use lactose-free milk or fortified plant-based milk products, such as soy milk.

Water

  • Drink water when you're thirsty.
  • Limit sugar-sweetened drinks, including soda, fruit drinks, and sports drinks.

Where can you learn more?

Go to http://www.healthwise.net/patientEd

Enter T756 in the search box to learn more about "Eating Healthy Foods: Care Instructions".

The Health Encyclopedia contains general health information. Not all treatments or services described are covered benefits for Kaiser Permanente members or offered as services by Kaiser Permanente. For a list of covered benefits, please refer to your Evidence of Coverage or Summary Plan Description. For recommended treatments, please consult with your health care provider.