Depending on your age, sex and what may be going on in your life health wise, your diet and health needs may vary.  Let’s take kids from ages two to five. When it comes to eating good foods such as fruits and vegetables….this is a tough crowd.  Wouldn’t it be great if cheesy puffs were a major food group? Here’s a way you can personalize the diet for your preschooler. Log on to MyPyramid.gov and you will see a link to MyPyramid Plan for Preschoolers. You can plug in your child’s name, gender, age and daily amount of physical activity and receive a personalized recommended diet. Terri, my publicist, used the tool to make a personalized plan for her five year old daughter. The plan is colorful, your child’s name is on it and the plan tells you the amount of each food group to consume daily. Kids require smaller portion sizes yet often eat the same amount as adults. Plus, you can click on each food group, say grains for example, and find out serving sizes and foods within that group which are smart choices. Then print out the plan for your child and post it where he or she can see it. It’s a great teaching tool and kids love that their name is on it.

If you’re having trouble getting your kids to eat a certain vegetable or fruit, try another one. Take them with you to the grocery store and let them play an active part picking the food. Introduce one fruit or veggie a week. When it comes to fruits and veggies, there are so many colors, textures and shapes. Terri told me that in her daughter’s preschool, the class would pick a fruit or veggie every week. They would talk about the color, shape and texture of the fruit and whether it was salty, sour or sweet. Then there was the taste test. It usually corresponded with whatever letter they were learning about that week such as A for Apple. You can do this at home. The MyPyramid.gov site has creative resources to help you build strong eating habits from a very young age.

Okay, I think we covered the toughest crowd. Another group with specific nutrition needs is moms-to-be.  If you are in this group, there is also a MyPyramid for you. Plug in your age, weight, height, due date and daily exercise and you will receive a recommended diet for each trimester along with guidance on how to choose the healthiest foods. Your doctor may also prescribe a pre-natal vitamin or mineral supplement in addition to eating a healthy diet.

Moms-to-be, you have several nutrients personalized for your diet including iron and folic acid. Remember that the nutrient folic acid helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.  You can find folate (the form of folic acid in food) in vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens and fresh beans or peas, fortified breakfast cereals and orange juice. Iron helps in the formation of hemoglobin and carries oxygen to the tissues and organs of the growing baby. The most absorbable form of iron, called heme iron, is found in red meat. Other food sources of iron include beans, spinach, and fortified cereals (fortified means added to the product). Here’s a tip for you. Be sure and include a food source of vitamin C such as fruit with your food containing iron. Vitamin C partners with iron to increase its absorption in the body.

OK seniors, listen up. As we all age, our bodies have different needs. Researchers at Tufts University came out with a Modified Pyramid for older Adults in 2007. This pyramid continues to emphasize nutrient-dense food choices and the importance of getting plenty of water. It also adds foods that are especially important for older adults. These foods are rich in often deficient nutrients including calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12.  Did you know that it’s more difficult to absorb vitamin B12 as you age?  Vitamin B12 is found in animal foods only and as absorption decreases, supplements are often needed.

Current research has shown that people of all ages have low blood levels of vitamin D. Many doctors are now checking B12 and vitamin D blood levels during routine lab tests. Dairy sources, fortified soy milk, and calcium fortified foods such as orange juice and cereal are easy ways to add calcium to the diet. Vitamin D is found in few food sources among them salmon, tuna, cheese and egg yolks and fortified foods (vitamin D is added to the food). Additionally supplements are often recommended. Be sure and discuss your need for B12, calcium and vitamin D at your next visit with your health care professional.

Be sure and check out mypyramid.gov and personalize your diet. Another site with nutrition information, tips, recipes, resources, videos and more is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln extension services for Lancaster County. Both of these websites contain extensive information written in user-friendly language to help you get started with links to other resources as well.

Listen to this week’s podcast