The Oneida County Public Health Department has joined the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics during March in celebrating National Nutrition Month®. This year’s National Nutrition Month theme is “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day” and encourages consumers to develop a healthful eating plan that incorporates individual food choices and preferences.

“Everyone has different tastes and it is important that eating is enjoyable,” says Oneida County’s Registered Dietitian Brenda Husing. “Including favorite foods, cultural foods and being open to trying new foods helps the body to get the nutrients it needs to function well.”

Here are a few ways to eat right every day from the food and nutrition experts at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics:
• Personalize an eating style: The easiest way to get the nutrients needed is to eat healthy foods that are enjoyable. Finding good foods that please a palate makes eating healthfully special and exciting.
• Eat for a lifestyle: Athletic, vegetarian/vegan, corporate and family lifestyles all have special nutritional needs, but eating right can be easy and tasty with attention to those foods that best help one get through the day.
• Incorporate cultural and ethnic traditions: Foods from around the globe often incorporate an abundance of unique, flavorful and nourishing ingredients. Keep traditions alive and bring the world to the table.
• Keep health concerns in mind: A healthful eating plan can help prevent and treat a variety of health concerns. With modification and moderation, it’s possible to enjoy many favorite foods while meeting nutritional needs and health goals.
• Fill half a plate with favorite fruits and vegetables; keep protein portions lean and about three ounces; make at least half of grain choices whole grains; and be sure to include low-fat or fat-free dairy. Initiated in 1973 as a week-long event,National Nutrition Week became a month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing public interest in nutrition.