What's new in Canada's Food Guide?
After years of review, consultation and revisions, Health Canada has unveiled Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. It's based on the most up-to-date information about food, diet and health. Here’s what the new Food Guide means to you.
Good health and vitality. When you follow Canada’s Food Guide, you should be getting the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that you need. Because the Food Guide focuses on heart healthy eating habits, such as choosing lower-fat foods, eating more vegetables and fruit, and using healthier types of fat, you can lower your risk of developing heart disease and other conditions like type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, and some types of cancer.
Eat according to your age and gender. Gone are the ranges of serving sizes that created confusion about how much you were actually supposed to eat. And, for the first time, preschoolers are now included in the Food Guide. Starting at age two, and for each gender, the new Food Guide suggests a more exact number of “Food Guide Servings” that you need to eat from each food group. For example, a 35-year-old female needs 7-8 Food Guide Servings of Vegetables and Fruit every day, while a 45-year-old male needs 8-10 Food Guide Servings from this food group.
Eat more vegetables and fruit. There’s no denying that veggies and fruit are healthy for us, and this is definitely reflected in the new Food Guide. Vegetables and Fruit now take the lead in healthy eating and are pictured as the largest food group, meaning that they should be a part of every meal and snack that we eat. As the foundation of a healthy diet, vegetables and fruit deliver disease-fighting antioxidants, plant compounds, and essential vitamins and minerals. To get enough folate and vitamin A, the Food Guide recommends that we eat at least one dark green vegetable and at least one orange vegetable every day. Time to stock up on broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, green beans, carrots, squash and sweet potatoes! But watch the amount of fat, sugar and salt that you add to these foods. And try to eat veggies and fruit more often than drinking juice.
Make it whole grains. The buzz around whole grains is here to stay. Whole grains are foods that include all three parts of the grain kernel. When you eat whole grains, you get the whole team of nutrients, just as Mother Nature intended. According to the new Food Guide, whole grains should make up at least half of the foods that you choose from the Grain Products food group every day. Not only are there heart health benefits to eating whole grains, but there are also potential benefits on weight control and diabetes. Whole rye bread, oatmeal cereal, barley, brown rice, buckwheat noodles, wild rice and quinoa are just some of the wonderful whole grains to try.
Pour yourself two cups a day. The new Food Guide encourages us to drink at least two cups of skim, 1% or 2% milk every day. If you don’t drink milk, then have fortified soy beverages. For most people, this provides the recommended amount of vitamin D that we need. To meet calcium needs, adults aged 51+, teenagers, and children between the ages of 9-13 need at least one more Food Guide Serving such as lower-fat yogurt or lower-fat cheese from this newly named Milk and Alternatives food group. After age 50, adults also need to take a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU (10 micrograms).
Go fish! The new Food Guide echoes the message of the Heart and Stroke Foundation to eat at least two fish meals every week. There’s a bounty of heart healthy omega-3 fats in salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines, char and trout. In addition to fish, get into the habit of eating beans, lentils, tofu and other meat alternatives. When eating meat, be heart smart – pick lean cuts and cook with little or no added fat or salt.
Understand the good fat and the bad fat. We’ve known for some time now that it’s not just how much fat we eat, but also the type of fat that’s important. The new Food Guide advises us to choose the healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, while steering away from the saturated and trans fats. In fact, if you’re eating according to the Food Guide, you need to include 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 mL) of the good, unsaturated fats, like soft, non-hydrogenated margarine and canola oil, in your meals every day. This amount includes the margarine that you spread on your toast, any salad dressing that you use, as well as the oil that you use in your stir-fry.
Less fat, less salt and less sugar. Potato chips, cookies, cakes, sweets, and all of the foods that were once considered “extras” are not recommended as part of our regular everyday eating. Foods with extra fat and sugar only add calories to our diets. For the first time ever, the Food Guide addresses the issue of sodium. Eating too much salt or sodium can be a problem for those with high blood pressure. Take some extra time to read the Nutrition Facts on food labels to choose foods that are lower in fat, lower in sugar and lower in sodium.
More water. To quench your thirst, drink water. It’s refreshing and calorie-free. When it comes to the fruit drinks or fruit cocktails which are mostly sugar, just say no.
Check if you need supplements. Pregnant women, women planning to become pregnant and women who are breastfeeding need to take a multivitamin/mineral supplement that contains 400 micrograms (0.4 mg) of folic acid every day. These groups of women may also need extra iron. After the age of 50, everyone needs a daily vitamin D supplement of 400 IU (10 micrograms).
Get moving. It’s not enough to just eat well. Canada’s Food Guide stresses the importance of regular physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. Adults should be active for 30 to 60 minutes a day; children and youth for 90 minutes a day.
Make it multicultural. Variety is the spice of life! With so many ethnic foods restaurants and products available, the new Food Guide encourages us to give them a try. From bitter melon and edemame to paneer and goat, the new Food Guide offers something for everyone!
Make it personal. Design your own food guide that includes your favourite foods and activities, or get some ideas of other foods to try! Log onto
www.healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide to go on a virtual tour of the new Food Guide, order your copy, as well as to print out a copy that includes your favourite foods and activities.