Ohio State University Extension
Family Nutrition Program
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program

Nutrition News

Spring Into Fitness
By B.J. Hartschuh
Family Nutrition Program

Spring is a time for new beginnings. For some, it's a great time to improve fitness with increased physical activity. How about you? The benefits of
physical activity are numerous and well documented:

• Increases physical fitness
• Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints
• Builds endurance and muscular strength
• Helps manage weight
• Lowers risk factors for cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and type 2 diabetes
• Helps control blood pressure
• Promotes phychological well-being & self esteem
• Reduces feelings of depression and anxiety

For the minimum amount of activity recommended, see the Fitness Corner attached.

For more information contact:

Barbara A. Brahm
Extension Educator
Family and Consumer Sciences

Fitting the Dietary Guidelines to a Fast Food Life

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines give you advice to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases through diet and physical activity. The first advice is to: Consume adequate nutrients within calorie needs. This means:

• Eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods and drinks from all food
  groups (as pictured in MyPyramid). But choose foods that limit
  the intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars,
  salt and alcohol.
• Follow the USDA Food Guide illustrated by MyPyramid but stay
  within your energy needs.

Life in the Fast Food Lane

It ’s hard to follow the Dietary Guidelines if you want to include dining out or picking up meals at the drive-thru. How can you make healthy food choices when eating fast food?

• Ask for your burger or grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce and
  tomato only.
• Get the child-size portion.
• Pick a side salad with dressing on the side, instead of fries.
• Order a no-calorie drink —water, diet soda, tea, or coffee. Get your low-fat dairy at other meals.
• Order milk or 100% juice.
• Some fast food places have fruit, such as apple wedges or mandarin oranges. Order these with your sandwich.
• Order main dish salads without cheese and croutons. Add only 1 tablespoon dressing from your salad dressing packet. Make sure the meat is grilled and not crispy.
• Bring fruit from home to add to your fast food order.
• Keep a water bottle with you to fill from a nearby faucet. Water is a good beverage.
• Order chili without the chips, cheese, or sour cream.
• If there is a choice of breads for your sandwich, choose 100% whole grain.
• Choose a vegetable pizza, no double cheese.

Fast Food from Home —For Lunch or Snack

If you make your own fast food you can more easily follow the Dietary Guidelines, and you spend less money.

Some “home grown” fast foods are:

• Peanut butter and/or low fat cheese and 100% whole wheat bread sandwich. Add dark green lettuce too.
• Trail mix made from your choice of nuts and dried fruit, plus unbuttered popcorn or ready-to-eat cereal.
• 100% whole wheat pita bread and hummus.
• Corn tortilla, low fat refried beans, grated low fat cheese and salsa.
• Low fat granola bar, low fat cheese.
• Fresh and dried fruits such as bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, raisins, dried plums, dried cranberries, dried apples, and dried apricots.
• Low fat yogurt, ready-to-eat cereal, fresh fruit.
• Grab and go vegetables: veggies prepared and packaged ahead and stored in the refrigerator - carrot, celery, and cucumber or zucchini sticks. Try cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, sweet potato sticks, turnip slices.
  Use bottled low fat Ranch dressing for a dip.
• Ready-to-eat high protein, whole grain cereal with fruit and low-fat milk isn't just for breakfast. It also makes a healthy lunch, dinner, or snack.

All foods fit into a healthy diet. When you dine out or bring home “take out ” food, choose foods for the other meals that complement your purchases. If your fast food has more fat than recommended, skip fat at other meals. If there
is added sugar in your fast food choice, choose foods without added sugar the rest of the day. If your fast food is really salty, go without salt for the next meal. Choose naturally nutrient dense foods. Choose foods from the bottom of
MyPyramid.

Keep Your Fast Food Safe

Fast food can make you sick if you eat it with dirty hands. Wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. Rinse. Dry hands completely using a clean cloth. Keep wrapped moist towelettes handy to clean your hands
when soap and warm water are not available.

Refrigerate all fast food within 2 hours of purchase if you do not eat it all. If you cannot refrigerate it, throw it out.