Resources for Everyone

General Nutrition Information

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides advice about how good dietary habits for people aged 2 years and older can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases.
Also available, a brochure for consumers: Finding Your Way to a Healthier You: Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (PDF-255K)

FirstGov for Consumers
A "one-stop" link to a broad range of federal information resources available online. See Food and Health links for information on nutrition and disease-related topics.

Food and Nutrition Topics from A to Z
This USDA site lets you search food and nutrition topics in both simple and detailed ways. Include topics from A to Z.

Glossary of Obesity, Physical Activity and Weight Control
Weight Control Information Network provides definitions of many terms used on this site.

Interactive Tool Box
The USDA Interactive Toolbox contains links to Web sites that allow consumers and professionals to input information and receive individual feedback to help with dietary assessment and planning, checking personal health risks, testing knowledge, and evaluating needs.

Make Your Calories Count
This presentation from the USDA helps explain the basics of the nutrition facts label.

Mayo Clinic, Healthy Living Centers* http://www.mayoclinic.com/findinformation/healthylivingcenter/index.cfm
Information and tools about a variety of health topics from Mayo Clinic, including nutrition and healthy recipes.

MyPyramid.gov
The new Department of Agriculture (USDA) food pyramid replaces "one size fits all" with a customizable eating plan. Explore the new pyramid to learn about the food groups and to see how much you need to eat.

MyPyramid Tracker
MyPyramid Tracker is Department of Agriculture's (USDA) online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information.

Portion Distortion!
To see if you know how today's portions compare to the portions available 20 years ago, quiz yourself on National Institutes of Health (NIH) Portion Distortion.

Healthy Recipes

Delicious Decisions*
From the American Heart Association (AHA).

Delicious Heart Healthy Latino Recipes/Platillos latinos sabrosos y saludables (PDF-1.2Mb)
Latino recipes in English and Spanish from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Fruit & Veggies Matter
CDC's site provides easy ways and recipe ideas to add more fruits and vegetables into your daily eating patterns.

A Healthier You
Here are almost 100 easy-to-make, fun, and delicious recipes based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. No advanced cooking skills required, and they taste great.

Heart-Healthy Home Cooking: African American Style (PDF-1.3Mb)
From the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Keep the Beat: Heart Healthy Recipes (PDF-1.9Mb)
From the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Meals Matter*
Developed by the Dairy Council of California, this site has recipes, personal nutrition planner, fitness planner and more.

Smallstep.gov
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Smallsteps.gov Web site provides a list of delicious recipes the whole family will enjoy--from appetizers to desserts.

Stay Young at Heart
Cooking the heart-healthy way, by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Dietary Supplements

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
The US Food and Drug Administration answers common questions regarding dietary supplements; for example, What is a dietary supplement? How are dietary supplements regulated?

Office of Dietary Supplements
National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides information on dietary supplements.

Nutrition for Children

Breastfeeding
Both babies and mothers gain many benefits from breastfeeding. CDC's Breastfeeding site has frequently asked questions, recommendations, national breastfeeding statistics as well as information on a variety of other topics. You can also find links to other breastfeeding resources.

Empowering Youth with Nutrition & Physical Activity
Empowering Youth is a Department of Agriculture (USDA) manual for use in after school programs and classrooms with youth 11–18 years old. It contains current nutrition and physical activity information to enhance leader knowledge; fun, hands-on activities that teach nutrition concepts; ideas to include nutrition education and physical activity into youth programs and events.

Food and Nutrition Fun 2008
USDA's resource for parents, teachers, educators, and child care providers interested in materials that will create a food and nutrition awareness in children while teaching them the ABC’s of healthy eating:
For Preschoolers (PDF-125k)
For Elementary Age Children (PDF-130k)

La Leche League International*
The La Leche League International mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.

We Can!
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) offers a national education program designed for parents and caregivers to help children 8-13 years old stay at a healthy weight. The booklet "Finding the Balance: A Parent Resources" offers an array of easy to use practical tips and tools for parents and guardians to help their children and families eat healthy, increase physical activity, and decrease screen time.

Women’s Health.gov Breastfeeding site
Health and Human Services' (HHS) resources for breastfeeding mothers including questions and answers about breast feeding as a well as a breastfeeding helpline phone number.

Sites Especially for Kids

BAM! Designed for kids 9–13 years old, CDC's BAM! Body and Mind gives them the information they need to make healthy lifestyle choices.
The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective* Kaiser Permanente's interactive detective game takes children (ages 9-10) through activities that show how to choose healthy foods and how to get more active. Amazing Food Detective also includes an array of features that get kids moving and away from the computer, such as an automatic shut-off function after 20 minutes that reminds kids to get active, printable scavenger hunts, and family activities that encourage better eating habits.
Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s site encouraging and teaching kids and adults to eat healthy and be physically active everyday.

GirlsHealth.gov
Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) GirlsHealth.gov promotes healthy, positive behaviors among girls between the ages of 10 and 16. The purpose of the site is to give girls reliable, useful information on the health issues they will face as they become young women, and tips on handling relationships with family and friends, at school and at home.

Girl Power.gov
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sponsors this national public education campaign to help encourage and motivate 9- to 13- year-old girls to make the most of their lives. Girl Power! seeks to reinforce and sustain positive values among girls ages 9-13 by targeting health messages to the unique needs, interests, and challenges of girls.

Kids Health*
Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, KidsHealth provides information for kids written in age-appropriate content and tone.

Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!
National Institute of Health (NIH) created this interactive after-school education program for young people ages 11 to 13 is designed to help teach them about the complex media world around them, and how it can affect their health — especially in the areas of nutrition and physical activity.

MyPyramid for Kids Go here to play Department of Agriculture's (USDA) MyPyramid Blast-off game and find other materials designed for elementary school-aged children.
Powerful Bones. Powerful Girls.^TM site for Girls CDC's girl-friendly Web site helps girls understand how weight-bearing physical activity and calcium can be a fun and important part of everyday life. Also available for Parents.

Smallstep for Kids
Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) child-focused site offers nutritional advice, games and activity suggestions for children and parents as part of the obesity prevention campaign. The computer-animated character Shrek encourages kids to go out an play.

Fruit and Vegetable Information

Body and Soul
The NIH, National Cancer Institute's (HHS) Body and Soul is a health program developed for African American churches. The program encourages church members to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables every day for better health.

FruitsandVeggiesMatter.gov
CDC's site provides easy ways and recipe ideas to add more fruits and vegetables into your daily eating patterns.

How to Use Fruits and Vegetables to Manage Your Weight
CDC provides information about fruits and vegetables and their role in your weight management plan. Tips to cut calories by substituting fruits and vegetables are included with meal-by-meal examples. You will also find snack ideas that are 100 calories or less.

Food Safety Information

Food Safety
Preventing foodborne illness and death remains a major public health challenge.

Disease-specific Organizations

American Cancer Society*
Nutrition information for cancer patients before, during, and after cancer treatment.

American Diabetes Association*
Nutrition information and recipes for individuals interested in managing diabetes.

American Heart Association*
Healthy lifestyle information to help decrease risk for cardiovascular disease.

The DASH Eating Plan
"DASH" stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension," National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's (NHLBI) clinical study that tested the effects of nutrients in food on blood pressure. Study results indicated that elevated blood pressures were reduced by an eating plan that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods and is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol.

National Osteoporosis Foundation*
Tips and information that may help prevent osteoporosis.

Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.

* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

Page last reviewed: August 11, 2008
Page last updated: August 11, 2008
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion