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A Closer Look at Fat and Added Sugars
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As you can see, fats and sugars are concentrated in foods from the Pyramid tip. These foods supply
calories, but little or no vitamins and minerals. By using these foods sparingly to enhance the
flavour of your food, you can have a diet that supplies needed vitamins and minerals without excess
calories.
When choosing foods for a healthy diet, consider that fat and added sugars in your choices from
the food groups, as well as the fats, oils, and sweets from the Pyramid tip.
Fat In general, foods that come from animals (meat and alternative group) are
naturally higher in fat than foods that come from plants. But there are many low-fat dairy and lean meat choices available,
and these foods can be prepared in ways that lower fat.
Fruits, vegetables, and grain products are naturally low in fat. But many popular items are prepared with fat, like
french-fried potatoes.
Added Sugars These symbols represent sugars added to foods in processing or at
the table, not the sugars found naturally in fruits and milk. It is the added sugars that provide calories with few vitamins
and minerals.
Most of the added sugars in the typical diet come from foods in the Pyramid tip - soft drinks, candy, sweet desserts, or
syrups and table sugar we add to foods like coffee, tea or desserts.
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For example:
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ONE BAKED POTATO
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Calories: 120
Fat: Trace
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14 French Fries
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Calories: 225
Fat: 11 grams
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Added sugars in food are found in items such as 3-in-1 beverage, sweetened dessert soups, canned fruit with heavy syrup,
cakes and cookies. The following chart shows you the amounts of added sugars in some popular foods. You may be surprised!
Fat and Sugar Tips:
» Choose lower fat foods from each food group most often.
» Go easy on fats and sugar added to foods in cooking or at the table
» Choose fewer foods that are high in sugars - candy, sweet desserts, and soft
drinks. or fried noodles, making them higher fat choices.
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The following chart lists commonly used foods in each food group and the amount of fat and sugar in each. Only a few of the
thousands of foods we eat are listed. However, they will give you an idea of foods from each food group that are higher and
lower in fat.
The Healthy Diet Pyramid symbol (») next to the food items means that food is one of
the lowest fat choices you can make in that food group. You can use the food label to count fat in specific foods. Many
labels on food lists the grams of fat in a serving.
How much is a gram of fat?
To help you visualize how much fat is in these foods, keep in mind that 1 teaspoon of butter has 4 grams of fat.
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| For this amount of food... |
count this many... |
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Rice and Alternatives Group
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| Eat 5 to 7 servings daily |
Servings |
Grams of Fat |
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»Rice, vermicelli, cooked, 1/2 cup
|
1 |
Trace |
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»Ketupat, without sauce, 1 portion
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1/2 |
Trace |
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»Bread, 1 slice
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1/2 |
1 |
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»Dinner roll, bagel, mantou , 1
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1 |
2 |
| Plain soda crackers, 2 |
1/2 |
3 |
| Chee cheong fun , 2 rolls |
1 |
4 |
| Nasi lemak, rice only, 1 portion |
1 |
7 |
| Cake, pandan chiffon, 1 slice |
1/4 |
7 |
| Chapati, 2 small |
1 |
10 |
| Croissant, 1 large (2 oz.) |
1 |
12 |
| Fried rice, 1 plate |
2 |
20 |
| Hokkien mee 1 plate |
2 |
30 |
| For this amount of food... |
count this many... |
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Vegetables Group
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| Eat 2 servings daily |
Servings |
Grams of Fat |
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»Vegetables, nonleafy cooked 1/2 cup
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1 |
Trace |
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»Vegetables, leafy cooked, 1 cup
|
1 |
Trace |
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»Vegetables, nonleafy, raw, 1 cup
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1 |
Trace |
| Bergedil, 1 medium |
1 |
4 |
| French fries, 10 |
1 |
8 |
| Sayur lodeh, 1 portion |
1 |
13 |
| Sambal kangkong, 1 plate |
1 |
31 |
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Fruit Group
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| Eat 2 servings daily |
Servings |
Grams of Fat |
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»Whole fruit: medium apple, orange, pear
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1 |
Trace |
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»Fruit, raw or canned, 1/2 cup
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1 |
Trace |
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»Fruit juice, unsweetened, 1/2 cup
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1 |
Trace |
| Fruit shakes, 1 large cup |
1 |
2-4 |
| Avocado, 1/4 whole |
1 |
9 |
| For this amount of food... |
count this many... |
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Meat and Alternatives Group
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| Eat 6 to 9 oz. daily |
Servings |
Grams of Fat |
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»Lean meat, poultry, fish, cooked
|
3 oz. |
6 |
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»Dry beans and peas, cooked, 1/2 cup
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1 oz. |
Trace |
| Egg, 1 medium |
1 oz. |
5 |
| Chicken, deep fried |
3 oz. |
11 |
| Roasted duck, with skin |
3 oz. |
15 |
| Chilli crab |
3 oz. |
16 |
| Sweet & sour pork |
3 oz. |
22 |
| Nuts, 1/4 cup |
1 oz. |
16 |
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Fats, Oil, and Sweets
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| Use sparingly |
Grams of Sugar |
Grams of Fat |
| Butter, margarine, 1 tsp. |
0 |
4 |
| Mayonnaise, 1 tbsp. |
0.5 |
11 |
| Salad dressing, 1 tbsp. |
2 |
7 |
| Reduced calorie salad dressing, 1 tbsp. |
3 |
* |
| Sugar, jam, jelly, 1 tsp. |
4 |
0 |
| Cola, 11 fl. oz. |
36 |
0 |
| Fruit drink, -ade, 12 fl. oz. |
25 |
0 |
| Chocolate bar, 1 oz. |
15 |
9 |
| Sherbet, 1/2 cup |
25 |
2 |
| Fruit sorbet, 1/2 cup |
28 |
0 |
| Gelatin dessert, 1/2 cup |
18 |
0 |
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What about alcoholic beverages? If adults choose to drink, they should have no more that 1 to 2 drinks a day.
Alcoholic beverages provide calories, but little or no nutrients. These standard-size drinks each provide about the same
amount of alcohol.
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Alcoholic Beverages
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Calories |
| Beer, 12 fl. oz. (1 regular can) |
150 |
| Wine, dry, 5 fl. oz. |
100 |
| Liquor, 1-1/2 oz.* |
100 |
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* A mixer such as a soft drink will add more calories.
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Rate Your Diet in the next section to
find if you are eating right.
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