How can the new dietary guidelines help Brehm students make healthier choices?

By Melissa Banz, MS, RD, LDN

Dietitian, Brehm Preparatory School

Lifestyles that are focused on consuming fewer calories, eating nutrient dense (healthy) foods and being active can help you attain and maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic disease and promote overall health.

The new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans reflect these strategies (for more information visit www.dietaryguidelines.gov). Below is a preview of some of the tips:

• Enjoy your food, but eat less.
• Consume more nutrient-dense foods
• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
• Include whole grain foods to most of your meals
• Eat more seafood (and other lean proteins)
• Compare foods with sodium, saturated and trans fat, added sugar and refined grains – choose foods with lower numbers
• Drink water instead of sugary drinks

How is Brehm promoting these messages with your children? Brehm hosts discussion groups where students can talk about these topics over lunch on Fridays.

In January, we discussed general recommendations for healthy eating for teens, where we discussed many topics, including:

• Why is healthy eating important?
• What foods they should eat more of.
• Strategies for a healthy weight.
• We’ve looked at how healthy eating translates to their “plate:" ½ the plate should be full of fruits and vegetables, a ¼ full of whole grains and the remaining ¼ with a lean protein.
• We’ve shared strategies for eating less. For example, drinking 1-2 glasses of water before a meal; eating a healthy breakfast; not skipping meals; and tracking what you eat and when you are active.

This month we will focus on identifying their individual calories needs, tracking what they are eating and comparing that to the new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Brehm also meets the Dietary Guidelines by offering a salad bar that provides a variety of green, red and orange vegetables and fruits. Students should be encouraged to fill half their plate full of fruits and vegetables before filling the remaining half with the lunch or dinner offered.

Brehm offers low fat milk and yogurt with every meal; teens should be encouraged to choose low fat dairy foods more often in order to meet their calcium needs. The kitchen staff is helping by including more whole grains and seafood to the menu and cooking with less fat and added sugar.

Melissa Banz has been a registered dietitian since May 2001, working in community nutrition. She graduated from the University of Nevada-Reno with a bachelor's of science in dietetics and then received a master's in science in community nutrition from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. She currently works with the Department of Human Services as a nutrition consultant providing training, education, consultation, and technical assistance to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and other maternal and child health programs. Her experiences emphasize individualized, patient-centered counseling and training and the development of effective educational materials. For the last few years, she has been using her experience in community nutrition to consult with private businesses to help individuals and families live a healthier lifestyle.