Portion Size Matters (Heart Health)

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Portion Size Matters (Heart Health)

A "portion" can be thought of as the amount of a specific food you choose to eat for dinner, snack, or other eating occasion. Portions, of course, can be bigger or smaller than the recommended food servings.

A "serving" is a unit of measure used to describe the amount of food recommended from each food group. It is the amount of food listed on the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged food or the amount of food recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

For example, six to 11 servings of whole grains are recommended daily. A recommended serving of whole grains would be one slice of bread or 1/2 cup of rice or pasta. People often confuse the recommendation to mean six to 11 portions with no regard to size. It is not six to 11 portions where one portion could mean a large bowl of pasta rather than 1/2 cup. Keep an eye on portion size to see how your portions compare with the recommended servings.

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