Students will have new ways to eat healthier this semester with the launch of LSU Dining’s Balanced You, a program to provide healthy, complete meals in the dining halls.
 
The dining halls already have healthy eating options like salad bars, but the new program will list food choices at other stations that fit a healthy eating plan, according to LSU Dining Director David Heidke.
 
Heidke said some foods in the dining halls “may not be considered healthy,” so LSU Dining intends to make sure students’ meals stay balanced.
 
“It’s OK to eat everything out there, but it’s all in moderation as part of a balanced diet,” Heidke said.
 
Balanced You is starting just as the United States Department of Agriculture released its 2010
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
 
A USDA news release emphasizes reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity “because more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese.”
 
The USDA advises people to avoid oversized portions, make half of each meal fruits and vegetables, drink water instead of sugary drinks and choose food with less sodium.
 
Heidke said the new guidelines are basic and simple, and the dining facilities are already familiar with the main points.
 
“Our dining facilities offer students the opportunity to follow that every day, every meal,” Heidke said.
 
Heidke said Balanced You helps students identify menu items that meet the reduced sodium, fat and calorie suggestions.
 
The salad bars in the dining halls already get a lot of traffic and are the first stations students encounter, Heidke said.
 
Briggitte Mosley, athletic dining director, is creating meals for the Balanced You program. She said a good example of a complete, healthy meal is chicken fajitas, Mexican rice, black beans and carrot and broccoli medley.
 
The program started last week and will progress throughout the semester.
Mosley said the new 2010 guidelines are a “holistic approach to food and nutrition.”
 
“People have forgotten about what a portioned size is,” Mosley said. “People have gotten away from it because they’re eating fast food and going to all-you-can-eat places.”
 
In line with the new guidelines, Mosley said the Balanced You program focuses particularly on salt intake.
 
Mosley said while the USDA’s guidelines don’t suggest any drastic change, they will affect what nutrition educators are conveying to the public.
 
“Public policy will go along with them, as well; because manufacturers will start producing with lower sodium in food,” Mosley said.
 
The USDA release said the
dietary guidelines “aid policy-makers in designing and implementing nutrition-related programs” and “provide education and health professionals … with a compilation of the latest science-based recommendations.”
 
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Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]