Health Canada issues new food guide with emphasis on fruits and veggies

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• Food guide notes

The rainbow has changed.

For more than 10 years, Health Canada's Food Guide to healthy eating has put grains and alternatives on the top of the rainbow, meaning Canadians should have been consuming more brown rice and whole wheat bread then anything else in their diets.

But with a nod to preventing chronic diseases such as heart attack and diabetes, the new food guide encourages Canadians to eat more fruits and vegetables, which contain various nutritional benefits that are key to preventing chronic diseases.

Louisa Lee, a community dietitian for the South Riverdale Community Health Centre, said she encourages people to eat more vegetables than fruit because vegetables, particularly dark, leafy green or orange produce, contain more nutrients such as fibre and anti-oxidants, without the naturally occurring sugars found in fruit.

What is a serving?

While Lee said the guide has been improved, the key to understanding exactly what makes up a serving is in actually reading the entire six-page document. So while people may panic when they read kids nine to 13 should be getting six servings of fruits and vegetables, she said it's not as hard as it appears.

"A glass of orange juice in the morning equals two servings, throw an apple in at lunch and a salad and it's two more. You have a couple of cups of cooked vegetables at night - half a cup of cooked vegetables is one serving," and now kids are up to six servings of fruit and vegetables.

Other changes in the guide, which is available for free either by downloading it from Health Canada's website or ordering it over the phone to be mailed out, include:

* Offering a milk and alternatives category rather than milk and milk alternatives that was in the old guide. Lee said this new category recognizes the fact that many people can't consume dairy products.

* Offering a variety of foods for each category, including grains. "Look at the pictures (on the front of the guide). It's a little more diverse," Lee said. "It recognizes not everyone eats pasta and bread." The guide now offers choices such as wild rice, couscous, tofu, nuts and seeds. "It's a little more broader."

* Understanding there is a difference between good fat and bad fat. The old guide recommended a low-fat diet, while the new guide understands the importance of consuming two servings a fish a week in order to get omega-3 and 6 nutrients.

* Shrinking the meat portion size. It used to be that Health Canada would recommend a piece a meat the size of a deck of cards or about three ounces. Now people should be eating a meat portion size of two and a half ounces.

* Increasing the number of age groups within the guide. The new guide now serves children two and older rather than beginning when they are four.

"There are some really good, healthy messages in there," Lee said.

Click here for food guide notes.

Click here for some vegetable-filled recipes.