Nutrition Standards & Guidelines
These national recommendations provide science-based advice about food and nutrition for Americans.
What are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans?
This abbreviation stands for Dietary Reference Intakes.
What is DRI?
Name the five food groups represented by MyPlate.
What are fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy?
The current federal nutrition message can be summarized with these three words.
What is 'Eat Real Food'?
This part of a food package lists serving size, calories, and nutrient information.
What is the Nutrition Facts label?
Foods that provide many vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients relative to their energy content are described this way.
What are nutrient-dense foods?
This DRI value is the average daily intake level that meets the nutrient needs of nearly all healthy people in a particular group.
What is the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance)?
These two food groups together make up about half of the traditional MyPlate visual.
What are fruits and vegetables?
The New Pyramid encourages foods that are whole or this type of processed.
What is minimally processed?
This abbreviation tells how much one serving contributes to a recommended daily amount of a nutrient.
What is %DV (Percent Daily Value)?
This term describes the combination of foods and beverages a person regularly consumes over time.
What is a dietary pattern?
This value is used as an intake goal when there is not enough evidence to establish an RDA.
What is AI (Adequate Intake)?
On MyPlate, this food group appears as a separate circle beside the plate.
What is dairy?
Name the three broad areas emphasized in the New Pyramid.
What are protein/dairy/healthy fats; vegetables/fruits; and whole grains?
A Nutrition Facts label lists 20% Daily Value for calcium. What does the 20% describe?
One serving provides 20% of the Daily Value for calcium.
The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize choosing foods that are whole or minimally processed and reducing reliance on these foods.
What are highly processed foods?
This DRI value represents the highest average daily intake unlikely to cause harmful effects for most people.
What is the UL (Tolerable Upper Intake Level)?
A meal contains grilled chicken, brown rice, and milk but no produce. Which MyPlate groups are missing?
What are fruits and vegetables?
The New Pyramid recommends reducing reliance on foods high in added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and other ingredients typical of this category.
What are highly processed foods?
A student eats two servings of a food containing 10% DV of iron per serving. Approximately what percent of the Daily Value of iron did the student consume?
What is 20% DV?
A student says nutrition guidance is a strict diet that everyone must follow exactly. Explain why this is incorrect.
Nutrition guidance provides flexible recommendations that can be adapted to individual needs, preferences, cultures, and circumstances.
Scientists do not have enough evidence to establish an RDA for a nutrient. Which DRI value would most likely be used instead, and why?
What is AI, because Adequate Intake is used when evidence is insufficient to establish an RDA?
A student eats oatmeal with berries, yogurt, and nuts. Identify at least four MyPlate food groups represented.
What are grains, fruits, dairy, and protein foods?
Give one important similarity and one difference between MyPlate and the New Food Pyramid.
Both encourage a varied, nutrient-rich eating pattern. MyPlate organizes foods into five food groups and plate proportions, while the New Pyramid emphasizes whole/minimally processed foods and prioritizes protein, dairy, healthy fats, vegetables/fruits, and whole grains.
A package appears to contain one snack, but the Nutrition Facts label says two servings per container. Why is serving size important when interpreting the label?
Because consuming two servings means the listed calories and nutrient amounts generally need to be doubled.