Guideline No. 1
Enjoy a Variety of Foods

This first guideline urges you to include lots of different kinds of foods in y our diet; to prepare them in different ways; to mix and match foods in ways you haven't tried before; to avoid eating the same old things, week in and week out.

Why Variety is Important?

it increases your chances of getting all of the nutrients needed for good health, in the right amounts.

it stacks your diet with protective factors that may disarm would-be cancer causing substances. Protective factors include both nutrients (vitamins and minerals) and non-nutritive substances present in food.

it helps to keep your intake of substances like fat, salt, caffeine and alcohol at moderate and healthy levels.

How do you get Variety?

Getting variety in your diet is really quite simple.

The most basic way to ensure that you eat a variety of foods is to plan your day's meals around the major food groupings: Grain products; Vegetables and Fruit; Milk products; Meat and Alternatives.

Take advantage of the marvelous range of foods available in Canada. When fruits and vegetables are in season, buy locally grown foods. But when winter sets in, enjoy frozen or canned produce or choose from the wide range of produce that comes form all parts of the world.

Enjoy ethnic foods and cooking; try the different fruits, vegetables and whole grains that you find in the ethnic markets and grocery stores.

Shopping for healthy food is getting easier all the time. A quick check of the grocery store soon tells you that many companies are choosing to label their products with at least some nutrition information. The Canadian government and the food industry are working towards standards for nutrition information on food labels. You can use this information to get what you want and avoid what you don't want.

Info obtained from the Healthy Eating published by the Canadian Cancer Society