Nutrition

Added sugars are not considered part of a healthy diet. Limit added sugars where you can. One meal should contain no more than 10 grams. Common foods with added sugars include baked goods, soft drinks, salsas, condiments, and cereals.  Compare products by reading the label, and choose ones with less added sugar.

Read the Nutrition Facts labels on your packaged food and drinks to keep track of sugars, fats, protein, and other nutrients.

Most of the sodium we consume is in the form of salt. In most people’s diets, the majority of salt comes from processed and restaurant foods. Read labels and choose the product with less sodium.

Drink plain water instead of sugary beverages to reduce the number of calories and added sugar you consume. Read the Nutrition Facts label on a product to see how many calories are in your drink.

Try to consume more whole foods. An easy way to start is by cooking meals at home. This allows you to control the amount of salt and sugar in your meals.

Be sure you know how many servings are in the food you are eating. For example, if you buy what looks like an individual sized chicken pie, check the Nutrition Facts label before you assume that the whole pie is one serving. It might actually be two servings. If you eat the whole pie, you will eat twice as many calories, twice as much sodium, and other nutrients listed on the label.

Diet habits build over time. Many of the habits we have were started before we were able to make our own choices about the foods we eat. When changing our food habits, it can be helpful to track what eat for a few weeks.