The Dietary Guidelines for people 50 and older makes the following suggestions for daily food choices:
- Fruits – one and a half to two and a half cups
- Vegetables – two to three and a half cups
- Grains – five to 10 ounces
- Protein foods – five to seven ounces
- Dairy foods – three cups
- Oils – five to eight teaspoons
- Solid fats, added sugars, sodium – minimal
Some find measuring the amounts of food helpful until they can recognize what a cup or teaspoon of a food looks like. Below are some helpful physical examples:
- A cup of cereal = a fist
- A pancake = a compact disc
- A half cup of rice or pasta = half a baseball
- A slice of bread = a cassette tape
- One and a half ounces of cheese = 4 dice
- A half cup of ice cream = half a baseball
- A teaspoon of butter or oil = 1 die (dice)
- A cup of salad greens = a baseball
- A baked potato = a tennis ball
- A medium fruit = a tennis ball
- A quarter cup of raisins = a medium egg
- Three ounces of meat, chicken or fish = a deck of cards or the palm of your hand
- Two tablespoons of peanut butter = a golf ball
A serving size is generally defined as the amount of each food that should be consumed to meet daily recommendations. A portion size is how much of a food item is consumed. Portion sizes, particularly at restaurants, have grown dramatically over the years, and food is often encouraged for recreation and emotional comfort. To help individuals know the amount of nutrients that should be consumed daily, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies introduced the Dietary Reference Intake system.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) is the general term for a set of reference values used to assess the nutrient intakes of healthy people. These values vary by age and gender and include the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), the average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of healthy people.
A DRI calculator can be found on the United States Department of Agriculture website. This is an online tool which will calculate the daily nutrient recommendations based on established DRIs. It uses gender, age, height, weight and activity level to calculate information. The data represents the most current scientific knowledge on nutrient needs, however, individual requirements may be higher or lower. Older adults should talk with their doctor about questions regarding their specific needs.