1. Information that are found in dietary guidelines for Americans include the importance and reasons of healthy eating, a choices of balanced food and its labels that helps the health of people, sources of nutrients from natural or organic to fortified foods, advice for maintaining healthy body weight, moderation of food value intake, calculations, and other gathered data necessary for promoting a better health.
2. There are reference value of recommended grain intake based on people's body mass index. Six servings of grains per day is the minimum requirement of intake, and whole grain should be half of the serving. Suggested serving of grains may also vary based on a person's health and diagnosis.
3. Planning of low-sodium intake starts from avoiding canned foods or fresh foods with salt added into it. Sources of food that are or may be high in sodium such as bacon, ham, canned beans, salted nuts, and also seasoning like broths. Seasonings can be replaced by an alternative such as vinegar that's low on sodium.
4. Calculation of calorie intake is important prior to losing, maintaining, or gaining weight and this is an effective method in determining the number of fats consumed and the output of routine workout. A 1 calorie is equivalent to 4.12 kilojoules, and a thousands of this will be equivalent to a pound of fat.
5. Safe handling of food is mandatory because this will affect the outcome of a person's health. Washing of hands is the first step prior to safe food handling. Unclean hands can transmit unwanted bacteria or even a parasite. Second is the cleaning of workplace and segregation of wastes to prevent cross-contamination in food. Third, cooking should be done with right temperature and clean kitchen apparatuses; and lastly, leftover food should be refrigerated in a clean fridge.
