Premier Medical Group wants you to get healthy and stay healthy… it’s all part of “Full Circle Care”

Food and nutrition play a crucial role in health promotion and chronic disease prevention. A healthy eating pattern is one that provides enough of each essential nutrient from nutrient-dense foods, contains a variety of foods from all of the basic food groups, and focuses on balancing calories consumed with calories expended to help you achieve and sustain a healthy weight.

Your basic food groups include:

• Fruits－especially whole fruits
• Protein－including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products
• Dairy－fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages
• Oils – Fats and oils ​ come from both plants and animals. Vegetable oil, margarine, ghee, butter, avocado and shortening are examples of fats and oils.
• Grains – Foods predominantly made up of grains such as wheat, rice, oats or cornmeal include bread, cereal, pasta and tortillas.
• Vegetables－dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and others

A healthy eating pattern limits:

• Saturated Fats and Trans Fats
• Added Sugars
• Sodium

An example meal includes the following items from each food group:

• Lettuce & Celery
• Apples & Grapes
• Chicken Breast & Unsalted Walnuts
• Whole-Grain Bread
• Fat-Free Milk
• Mayonnaise
  

Creating a healthy eating pattern can reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis.

Here are some tips for eating healthy from the American Heart Association.

• Choose mindfully, even with healthier foods. Ingredients and nutrient content can vary a lot.
• Read labels. Compare nutrition information on package labels and select products with the lowest amounts of sodium, added sugars, saturated fat and trans fat, and no partially hydrogenated oils.
• Watch your calories. To maintain a healthy weight, eat only as many calories as you use up through physical activity. If you want to lose weight, take in fewer calories or burn more calories.
• Eat reasonable portions. Often this is less than you are served, especially when eating out.
• Don’t dismiss entire food groups. Eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body needs.
• Cook and eat at home. You’ll have more control over ingredients and preparation methods.
• Look for the Heart-Check mark to easily identify foods that can be part of an overall healthy eating pattern.

Our main priority at Premier Medical Group is to help keep our Clarksville community healthy. It’s all part of PMG #FullCircleCare. Contact us today if you need to schedule your annual wellness visit or if you are looking for a new provider.

 

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Sources:
https://www.nutrition.gov/
https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf
https://healthyforgood.heart.org