The basics of healthy eating

To eat healthy, you need to get a variety of nutrients from the five food groups — dairy, protein-rich foods, grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Each food group offers a different, main nutritional benefit, so by combining the food groups you can get a spectrum of nutrients that support good health.

Examples of foods from each group are:

Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, lactose-free milk, fortified soy milk
Protein-rich foods: seafood, meat, poultry, eggs, peas, beans, nuts, seeds, and soy products
Grains: wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley
Fruits: fresh, canned, frozen, or dried fruits and 100% fruit juice
Vegetables (nonstarchy): fresh, canned, frozen, or dried vegetables (raw or cooked) and 100% vegetable juice