“I think the revisions make the food guide very real. It’s more applicable to me and my everyday life,” said Waisman. She is a professional writer and public speaker on nutritional issues who also teaches cooking classes.

The guide’s healthy eating information is targeted at specific age and gender groups. The guide shows you how many servings from each food group each member of your family should eat. Updated pictures of food servings help people better understand exactly what a serving size is.

The new food guide also includes suggestions that reflect the different ethnicities in Canada. In addition, there’s a new a food guide specifically designed for First Nations and Inuit peoples to help prevent chronic diseases, which includes traditional foods.

“It’s a practical tool that tells me not only what foods to choose but also how big the serving size should be,” Waisman says. “The age ranges are narrower, and people should have a little easier time figuring out the number of servings that applies to their situations.”

Waisman points to the new categories for children as an example. The categories are now ages one to four, four to nine and nine to 13. It’s helpful to parents, she says, for the food guide to recognize that a two-year-old eats a lot differently than a nine-year-old, or that teen girls need three more servings of vegetables and fruits than preschoolers.

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The new food guide also recognizes the greater diversity of foods available in Canada.

“I urge people to take their taste buds on a culinary journey,” said Waisman. “You can try one of the grains you haven’t normally had in your world, for example, couscous, spelt, kamut. Or why not try different kinds of fruits? Mangoes are very popular right now, or kiwis, which are indigenous to New Zealand.”

Take advantage of the wide variety of seasonings available, adds Waisman. It’s good to experiment in your cooking.
Trying new foods is, in part, a way to help curb the rising rate of obesity.

Since 1992, obesity in Canada has skyrocketed. In 1978, three per cent of children aged two to 17 were obese. By 2004, eight per cent, or an estimated 500,000 children, were obese. For adults, 14 per cent were obese in 1978, but by 2004 the adult obesity rate rose to 23 per cent. This percentage translates into 5.5 million people.*

 “We heard over and over from physicians, scientists and dietitians that obesity was a crucial issue to be considered for the new food guide,” says Paul Duchesne, a spokesperson for Health Canada. “While the new food guide is not a weight loss tool, it will help people choose healthy foods and the right portions for the foods they eat.”

A new online feature on the Health Canada website called “My Food Guide” allows you to create a personalized version of the food guide. This version also suggests ways to reach your daily target of 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity.

“A person can choose their favourite foods or new foods from the wide variety presented in the food guide and check that they are meeting their nutritional requirements for their age and gender,” said Duchesne. “Developing a pattern of healthy eating will help reduce their risk of obesity.”

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Since the last food guide was released in 1992, vegetables and fruits have been recognized as even more important to our health and to the prevention of certain types of cancers and other diseases. The new food guide recommends eating more daily servings of vegetables and fruit than any other food group.

Whole vegetables and fruits are also better for you than fruit juices. The food guide recommends that people limit the amount of fruit juice they drink.

“Fruit juices, although nutritious, often provide extra calories, which many people don’t need or don’t want,” said Waisman. “As well, when you drink a lot of juice, you may not be drinking the recommended amount of water.  Go for the whole fruit for added fibre.”

Canada’s food guide now recommends being active every day. Doing so gives you a better chance of reducing your risk of diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and heart disease.

“It’s important to balance your food intake with physical activity, especially with many Canadians fighting obesity,” said Duchesne.

Set up a lifetime pattern of healthy eating and physical activity with Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide. You will feel and look better, have a lower risk of chronic diseases, and have a healthy body weight and stronger bones.

Some other important changes in the food guide:

• Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable (or orange-coloured fruit) every day.
• Choose vegetables and fruit prepared with little or no added fat, sugar or salt.
• Drink skim or one or two per cent milk every day.
• Make at least half of your grain products whole grains every day.
• People over the age of 50 should take a daily vitamin D supplement.
• All women who could become pregnant or who are pregnant or breastfeeding need a multivitamin containing folic acid every day.

* Statistics Canada, 2005, Canadian Community Health Survey: Obesity Among Children and Adults

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Learn More:

Eating Well With Canada’s Food Guide
The food guide is available online through the Health Canada website. You can order a print copy of the Eating Well With Canada’s Food Guide online. You can also get a free copy of the food guide from the Dietitians of Canada website.

“My Food Guide” 
This interactive, online tool lets you create a personalized version of Eating Well With Canada’s Food Guide. Simply Great Food: 250 Quick, Easy and Delicious Recipes

Simply Great Food: 250 Quick, Easy and Delicious Recipes
Copies of the Dietitians of Canada’s new cookbook can be bought at bookstores throughout Canada. In addition to the recipes, the cookbook includes no-nonsense, current advice on nutrition and solutions to challenges people face in the kitchen.