What is MyPlate?

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MyPlate is a reminder to find your healthy eating style and build it throughout your lifetime. Everything you eat and drink matters. The right mix can help you be healthier now and in the future. Focus on variety, amount, and nutrition. Choose foods and beverages with less saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. Start with small changes to build healthier eating styles. Eating healthy is a journey shaped by many factors, including our stage of life, situations, preferences, access to food, culture, traditions, and the personal decisions we make over time. All your food and beverage choices count! MyPlate offers ideas and tips to help you create a healthier eating style that meets your individual needs and improves your health.

Focus on making healthy food and beverage choices from all five food groups, including fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy to get the nutrients you need. Eat the right amount of calories for you based on your age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. Building a healthier eating style can help you avoid overweight and obesity and reduce your risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Choose an eating style low in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.

Use Nutrition Facts labels and ingredient lists to find amounts of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars in the foods and beverages you choose. Look for food and drink choices that are lower in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar. Eating fewer calories from foods high in saturated fat and added sugars can help you manage your calories and prevent overweight and obesity. Most of us eat too many foods that are high in saturated fat and added sugar. Eating foods with less sodium can reduce your risk of high blood pressure. Make small changes to create a healthier eating style.

Start with a few of these small changes. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables, focus on whole fruits, vary your veggies, make half your grains whole grains, move to low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt and vary your protein routine.

Please visit https://www.choosemyplate.gov/eathealthy/WhatIsMyPlate to read the complete article. Choosemyplate.gov is an excellent resource for any age. If you want to get you and your family healthy, you must visit this site. For more information, contact your local Extension office at 1-800-ASK-UGA-1.