Eating healthy can be difficult for a multitude of reasons—misinformation, rising costs of food, and convenience are just a few. The truth is that a healthy diet can look different for every person, but Canada’s Food Guide may be able to help you out!
What Happened to the Old Food Guide?
You may remember learning about the “rainbow” version of Canada’s Food Guide in elementary school. It consisted of 4 food groups—fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy, and protein—and a suggested number of “servings” an individual should eat each day based on age and sex. However, the new food guide gives a much more flexible and realistic recommendation of what Canadians should aim for their diet to look like. Instead of the rainbow with numbers of servings, the new guide depicts a dinner plate showing what a balanced meal can look like. It is half-filled with fruits and vegetables, one-quarter full with foods that are high in protein, one-quarter full with whole grains, and a glass of water.
Food Choices
One big difference is that the new food guide recommends choosing protein sources that come from plants more often than animal sources. It also stresses the importance of including healthy fats that can come from nuts and seeds, avocados, fish, and olive oil. The other recommendation regarding food choices is to limit the number of processed foods in your diet and to choose fresh and whole foods when possible.
Eating Habits
Health Canada recommends engaging in the following healthy eating habits to improve your attitude towards food and to enjoy eating healthy foods:
- Take your time to eat
- Cook at home more often
- Eat with others
- Pay attention to your body’s hunger cues
- Plan and prepare food with your family
- Eat foods that are important to your culture and that bring you comfort
Battling Misinformation
Social media tends to be a breeding ground for incorrect information about healthy eating. Think: What I Eat in a Day, How to Lose x Pounds in 1 Week, Why You Should Never Eat [insert “bad” food here], etc. While there is good nutrition information available out there, it’s important to use critical thinking and question your sources. In general, good nutrition information on the internet can come from registered dietitians, physicians, peer-reviewed research, and government agencies like Health Canada.
Remember, a healthy diet for you will absolutely look different than someone else’s. You should continue to eat what you enjoy eating and use Canada’s Food Guide to help you make informed decisions about what you eat.
You can find the old Canada’s Food Guide recommendations here and you can find the new Canada’s Food Guide here.