Nutrition Guidelines
Nutrition guidelines, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI), provide direction for creating healthy menus for senior nutrition programs. Dive into these guidelines and learn how to meet the basic requirements of Title III-C nutrition programs.
Infographics
DGA Infographics
- The Guidelines— Infographic of 2020-2025 DGAs
- Top Sources of Added Sugars— Top sources and average intakes
- Consumer Resources— Brochures, handouts, and printed materials
- Current Intakes: Ages 60 and Older— Average daily food group intakes compared to recommended
intake ranges - Dietary Guidelines— Top ten things you need to know about the DGAs
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans Toolkit for Health Professionals— CDC handouts available in English and Spanish
- Eat Healthy to Be Healthy— Infographic on how the DGAs improve health
- One Day at a Time— Sample one day menu of nutrient dense meals
- One Food or Beverage at a Time— Examples of typical foods and more nutrient dense alternatives
- One Meal at a Time— Comparison of a meal and a more nutrient dense version
- Saturated Fats— Top sources and average intake
- Sodium— How to reduce sodium intake
- Sodium— Top sources and average intake
Quick Guides
- Quick Tips: Nutrition Guidelines — Information and resources related to common questions
about OAA Title III-C nutrient requirements
Guides
- Nutrition Requirements of the Older Americans Act — Basics for Title III-C
- Purchasing Foodservice Software Guide — Considerations around nutrient analysis software and comparison of software
Guidance
- 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans— Current guidelines with the theme “Make Every Bite Count”
Fact Sheets
- Adult Day Care Food Allergy Fact Sheets— ICN resources about all nine major food allergens, managing food allergies in adult day cares, and common questions about food allergies
- From DietaryGuidelines.gov:
- Top 10 Things You Need to Know About the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025
- Customizing the DGA Framework— Foods, food groups, preparation styles
- Dietary Intakes Compared to Recommendations— Data on consumption for 60+
- Healthy Eating Across the Lifespan— How DGAs promote health
- Make Every Bite Count Overview— One-page DGA explainer
- From the Nutrition & Aging Resource Center:
- Calcium— Fact sheet from NIH
- Aging Vibrantly— National Dairy Council fact sheet for older adults
Tools & Toolkits
- DGA Toolkit — Toolkit to help senior nutrition programs align with the DGAs
- Sodium Reduction Toolkit — Resources for creating healthy, appealing, low sodium meals
- Menu Creation Toolkit — Examples and resources to create menus
- Online DRI Calculator— USDA's interactive tool to calculate daily nutrient recommendations
- Food Service Guidelines— CDC resources for implementing food service guidelines
- FoodData Central— USDA integrated data system
- USDA Databases— Research on supplements and food
Presentations
- Reducing Sodium in Senior Meals: Tips and Tricks (YouTube)— Webinar on how local congregate sites and national home-delivered meal providers reduced sodium
- Reducing Sodium, Not Flavor! (YouTube)— FDA update on federal initiatives to help limit sodium and improve health
Research
- Nutrient Recommendations: DRIs— NIH tables and reports