Moderation and variety in your diet will assure that you take in enough of a variety of nutrients and will not get too much of some things. It is also important to choose different foods within each food group. In other words, an apple a day is fine as long as it isn't the only kind of fruit you eat. Eating a variety of foods also makes rooms for occasional treats. The main nutritional problem facing Americans is we eat too many high calorie foods that provide few nutrients.
Examples are foods high in sugar or fat like soft drinks or candy bars.
There is little scientific controversy on this dietary guideline. Studies have shown that people who eat from a wider variety of food groups are healthier and live longer. Now when nutrition news gets confusing, there IS a place to go to get the real story. Our FREE daily email newsletter, Nutrition News Focus, helps you make sense of it all. It's written by Dr. David Klurfeld, Chairman and Professor of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at Wayne State University.