Prepared by
Beth Reames, PhD, LDN, RD

Diane Linder, EdD, LDN, RD
and

Donna Montgomery, MS

A small amount of fat is important for health, but most of us eat too much fat.  Eating too much fat can lead to heart disease and certain kinds of cancer.

Table of Contents for The Food Guide Pyramid Introduction What You Will Learn Group 1:  Breads, Cereals, Rice and Pasta Groups 2 and 3:  Vegetables and Fruits Group 4:  Meat Group 5:  Milk, Yogurt and Cheese Group 6:  Fats, Oils and Sweets Sample Food Guide Pyramid Menu Plan Eating on The Go Summary Review questions Back to Nutrition Curriculum Lessons

Click here for the printable (Word) version of the lesson

Group 6:  Fats, Oils and Sweets

These are nutrients that should be eaten sparingly - not too much each day!  Some fats, oils, and sweets are added to foods before eating, such as salad dressing, mayonnaise, margarine and butter and table sugar.  Because you add these yourself, it is easier to eat less by not adding them to your food or adding them in small amounts.  However, there are hidden fats and sugars in many foods.  It is important to read Nutrition Facts labels and know where to look for hidden fats and sugars.

Fats and Oils

A small amount of fat is important for health, but most of us eat too much fat.  Eating too much fat is a risk factor of heart disease and certain kinds of cancer.   Eating too much fat can lead to obesity.  Being overweight can lead to high blood pressure and is a risk factor of diabetes.  You should limit your overall fat intake to 30 percent of your calories and saturated fats to less than 10 percent.  If you need about 2000 calories a day, your total fat intake can be about 65 grams of fat, with 20 grams of this amount being saturated fat.  You can learn to read labels to figure out the grams of fat in foods you eat. 

To lower your fat intake, learn to recognize foods and ingredients that are high in fat and beware of foods with a lot of hidden fat.

High-Fat Foods	Foods High in Hidden Fats
Butter/margarine Shortening/lard Vegetable oils Cream/sour cream Whole milk Ice cream Cheese Bacon Mayonnaise Visible fats on meats Gravy Cream sauces	Most fast-food meals Potato chips Regular popcorn Fried foods Pastries, doughnuts Brownies, most cookies Peanut butter Peanuts, pecans, other nuts Chocolate candy Avocados and olives Hot dogs, sausage, lunch meat Frozen pot pies

Easy ways to Lower Fat

• Bake or broil instead of fry.
• Choose low-fat or skim milk and other low-fat or non-fat dairy products.
• Choose lean meats, poultry and fish.
• Trim off all visible fat and remove skin from poultry before eating.
• Chill soups, broths and gravies and remove hardened fat.
• Get most of your calories from whole-grain and enriched breads and cereals, rice, pasta, dried beans and peas, fruits and vegetables.
• Choose margarines that have liquid oil listed as the first ingredient.
• Limit your intake of hidden fats.
• Change your recipes - decrease fat by at least one-half.
• Substitute applesauce for shortening in baking.

Sugars

Sucrose is the type of sugar found in table sugar, raw sugar (unrefined sugar), powdered sugar and brown sugar (table sugar colored with molasses).  Other forms of sugar include honey, molasses, corn syrup or high-fructose syrup.  Sugars supply calories, but little else nutritionally.

Many processed foods contain sugar.  Look at the list of ingredients on the label.  Ingredients are listed in order by weight - from greatest to least.   Look for the words that end in ose such as sucrose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, lactose and glucose.  Also, many foods contain corn syrup and liquid sugar.   If one of these sugars is listed as one of the first three ingredients, or if several sugars are listed on the label, the product is probably high in sugar.

The average American eats a little over 40 pounds of sugar and sweets per year, not counting soft drinks.  Sugar consumption per person has increased almost 1 pound per year each year since 1985. 

Complex carbohydrates should be the biggest part of our diet.  The best sources of complex carbohydrates are starchy foods such as breads, potatoes, rice and spaghetti.   These foods provide other important nutrients in addition to carbohydrates.   Sugars and sweets provide carbohydrates and fill you up without providing essential vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber.  Sweets should be used for special treats, not as a major source of carbohydrates.

Sugar Myths

1.  Sugar Causes Hyperactivity

Research has proved that this isn't true, although many people believe it to be true.  If a child is overexcited, it may be due to the situation (a birthday party, being out of school or a holiday such as Halloween) and not because of the sweets that go along with it.

2.  Sugar Causes Diabetes

This isn't true either!  A person get diabetes because of their genetics (if a relative had it), being overweight, or age, but not because of sugar intake.  When a person has diabetes, their body can't use sugar properly.  These people must maintain a well- balanced diet that includes some sugar but many other nutrients to keep their bodies healthy.

Sample Food Guide Pyramid Menu Plan

Breakfast

1 fruit - 3/4 cup orange juice

1 bread, 1 milk - 1 ounce cereal with 1 cup milk

1 bread, 1/2 meat - 1 slice whole-wheat toast with 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Morning Snack

1/2 milk, 1 bread - 1 slice cheese and 4 crackers

1 fruit - 3/4 cup apple juice

Lunch

1 meat, 2 breads, 1 fat - hamburger

1 vegetable, 1 fat - tossed salad with light dressing

1 milk - 1 cup low-fat or skim milk

Afternoon Snack

1 fruit - banana

1 bread - 4 vanilla wafers

Dinner

1 meat - 1 piece stewed chicken

2 breads - 1 cup rice

1 bread - 1 slice bread or cornbread

1 fat - 1 teaspoon margarine

1 vegetable - 1 cup cooked greens

1 vegetable - 1/2 cup carrot sticks

Night Snack

1/2 milk - 3/4 cup frozen low-fat chocolate yogurt

Total Food Group Servings:

Bread, cereal, rice, pasta - 9 servings

Vegetable - 4 servings

Fruit - 3 servings

Meat - 21/2 servings

Milk - 3 servings

Fat - 3 servings

Eating On The Go

There's no great harm in eating foods that are high in fat, sugar or sodium and low in nutrients once in a while.  Many foods eaten on the go, however, are in that category.  It's not uncommon for as many as half of the day's diet to be foods eaten on the go.  Look for foods that offer moderate-to high levels of vitamins, minerals or fiber.  To do this, try to find foods that will help you meet the Food Guide Pyramid's recommended number of servings from the five food groups.   Look for foods that are moderate- to- low in fat, sugar and sodium.  Here are some tips to help you make better on-the-go choices:

Look in the refrigerator cases for juices, low-fat milk and yogurt.

Substitute pretzels for chips.

Buy easy-open cans of tuna or sardines instead of Vienna sausage or potted meat.

Choose fruit or raisins when you can.

Sometimes, get plain biscuits or a loaf of bread and some jelly, instead of sausage biscuits, doughnuts or fried pies.

Read the labels!   Look for grams of fat and milligrams of sodium.  Remember that if you take in about 2000 calories a day, you should take in only 65 grams of fat, total.  About 2400 milligrams of sodium a day would be about the right limit, if you're not on a low- sodium diet.  Cups of soup or meal items to microwave are often high in sodium (800-1000 milligrams).

Order a salad when available and ask for lettuce and tomato on a sandwich.

Summary

There are six food groups in the pyramid: 

• Breads/cereal/rice/pasta
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Milk/yogurt/ cheese
• Meat/poultry/fish/eggs/beans/nuts
• Fats/oils/sweets
  

No one food group is more important than another.  There are no good foods or bad foods.  However, it is important to balance the high- fat or high sugar foods with low- fat or low sugar foods over a period of one or two days