American Dietary Guidelines

Raneem Alkhatib
Module One Summary week one
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
After a detailed reading for the dietary guidelines for Americans, I found it very informative and helpful. I think this document is very valuable for my future career as a clinical nutritionist. As a practitioner I would definitely refer back for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in helping my patients plan a healthy diet, make changes in their lifestyles, options for choosing meals when eating out. For my profession, I can definitely refer back for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This document can help me improve the health of our nation and future generations by facilitating and promoting healthy eating and physical activity choices. I feel that the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans is a reliable source for me as a clinical nutritionist. They form the basis for nutrition policy in federal food, education and information programs. The recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines are based on a preponderance of scientific evidence for nutritional factors that are important for promoting health and lowering risk of diet related chronic disease. Quantitative recommendations always refer to individual intake or amount rather than population average intake. For my patients I can definitely use the American Dietary Guidelines in a variety of ways.
I can educate my patients how to use the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. I can explain to my patients about the concept of calorie balance, discuss diet and physical activity principles that can be used to help them achieve their calorie balance. My patients can be taught how to focus on several dietary components that can lead to excess weight gain. I can use the Dietary Guidelines to show my patients how focus on nutritious food that are recommended for nutrient adequacy and overall good health. Patients can be trained on how to refer to different appendices if they want to learn more about building healthy lifestyle patterns. In my opinions the Authors do a great job in writing the American Dietary Guidelines. The dietary Guidelines serve as an effective resource to help educate the public about their health. If I were a write, I would add few things. I would add a section for healthy recipes, educate more about methods to cook healthy, provide a restaurant that are approved by the FDA as a healthy option when eating out. Another important section that can be added, planning healthy meals for children. I would definitely add an educational section about improving teens food
choices. There are several ways I can incorporate the American Dietary Guidelines into my practice. First and foremost, I will keep investigating and reading about the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, I will create posters that have the information for the American Dietary Guidelines and post them in my office. This week I decided to talk about chapter 3 Food and food components to reduce. This chapter mainly talks about how to follow the recommendations that helps achieve a dietary pattern that will meet their nutrient needs. How they can control their calorie intake and I can teach them that this will help them reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases. I will educate my patients how to consume fewer foods that are high in sodium, solid fats, added sugars and refined grains. For my clients that drink alcohol I can advise them to drink in moderation; 1cup for women and 2 cups for men a day. My patients can be guided on how to use appendix 4 which discusses food labels, This will help them evaluate and compare the nutritional ingredients of different products .