Instructions

• To get proper nutrition divide your daily intake into the following sections – Grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy, fats, meats and beans. This will let you know whether the diet you had been taking till yesterday was nutrient rich or not.
• Every day make sure you include atleast six ounces of grains, two cups each of fruits and vegetables, six ounces of protein and three cups of dairy and fat products. Out of the six ounces of grains, make sure to include atleast three ounces of whole grains every day. Similarly try to take fat free and low fat dairy products every day.
• It will be hard to follow the above recommended food products, therefore start by eating four to five cups of fruits and vegetables every day for a good start. Include more fiber rich food products as it helps in significantly reducing the risk of diabetes and heart diseases.
• Make sure to get more of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E, calcium (broccoli, dark leafy greens and sardines), iron, potassium (bananas, raisins, spinach) and magnesium (spinach, black beans, almonds, peas etc) daily.
• Limit the intake of saturated fat (less than 20 grams per day), trans fat (zero grams per day) and cholesterol rich (less than 300 mg per day) food in your diet. Write down what you eat and drink every day to control your food intake.
• Make friends with a dietitian or nutrition professional to prevent making future appointments with doctors. Only take a vitamin pill if your dietitian or doctor has asked you to do so. Otherwise understand that these pills will never substitute for the nutrients derived from the real fruits and vegetables. Also overdose of such supplements, including herbal supplements can lead to severe side effects.