Table 3.
Comparison between the suggested portions in the Italian dietary guidelines for healthy eating (for a 2500 kcal diet) and the EAT-IT dietary plan (i.e., the ELCRD tailored to consider Italian food habits), which was developed based on the planetary healthy diet.
| Italian Guidelines | EAT-IT Dietary Pattern | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Group | Food Subcategory | Daily or Weekly Portion | |
| Cereals and derivatives | Bread | 4.5 portions/day of 50 g (225 g/day) | ≠ Max daily amount of whole grain bread of about 375 g |
| Pasta, rice, corn, spelt, and barley | 1.5 portions/day of 80 g (120 g/day) | ≠ Max daily amount of about 200 g | |
| * Bread substitutes (rusks, crackers, and breadsticks) | 1 portion/week of 30 g (30 g/week) | ≠ About 45 g of rusks (five slices) can be eaten at breakfast | |
| * Sweet bakery products (brioche, croissants, and biscuits) | 2 portions/week of 50 g for croissants or cake or 30 g/week for biscuits (100 or 60 g/week) | ≠ Sweet products can be eaten at breakfast and are indicated as “sugars and other sweeteners” | |
| * Breakfast cereals | 2 portions/week of 30 g (60 g/week) | ≠ About 45 g of breakfast cereals can be eaten at breakfast | |
| Tubers | Potatoes | 2 portions/week of 200 g (400 g/week) | ↓ 1 portion/week of 325 g (325 g/week) |
| × Fruits | Fresh fruits | 3 portions/day of 150 g (450 g/day) | ↓ 200 g/day |
| Dried fruits | 3 portions/day of 30 g (90 g/day) | n.s. | |
| × Vegetables | Fresh vegetables | 3 portions/day of 200 g (600 g/day) | ↓ 300 g/day |
| Leaf salad | 3 portions/day of 80 g (240 g/day) | n.s. | |
| Meat | * Red meat (beef, pork, and sheep meat) | 1 portion/week of 100 g (100 g/week) | Beef, lamb, or pork—100 g/week (100 g/week) |
| White meat (chicken, turkey, or rabbit) | 3 portions/week of 100 g (300 g/week) | ↓ Chicken and other poultry—2 portions of 100 g/week (200 g/week) | |
| Fishery | Fish (including mollusks and crustaceans) | 3 portions/week of 150 g (450 g/week) | ↓ Fish—2 portions/week of 105 g (210 g/week) |
| * Preserved fish (e.g., canned tuna) | 1 portion/week of 50 g (50 g/week) | n.s. | |
| Egg | Egg | 4 medium eggs/week (200 g/week) | ↓ 1 portion/week of 2 medium eggs (125 g/week) |
| × Legumes | Fresh legumes or canned | 3 portions/week of 150 g (450 g/week) | ↑ 8 portions/week of 65 g of dried legumes—about 200 g of fresh legumes (520 g or 1560 g/week) |
| Dried legumes | 3 portions/week of 50 g (150 g/week) | ||
| × Milk and derivatives | Milk | 3 portions/day of 125 mL (375 mL/day) | ↓ 1 portion/day of 250 mL of milk or other isocaloric equivalences of milk derivatives (e.g., yogurt, butter, etc.) (250 mL/day) |
| Yogurt and other fermented milk | 3 portions/day of 125 g (375 mL/day) | ||
| Cheese (fat <25% and less than 300 kcal/100 g) | 3 portions/week of 100 g (300 g/week) | ||
| Cheese (fat >25% and more than 300 kcal/100 g) | 3 portions/week of 50 g (150 g/week) | ||
| × Fats and seasoning | Vegetable oil (e.g., extra virgin olive oil and seed oil) | 4 portions/day of 10 mL (40 mL/day) | ↑ 50 g/day of added fats, preferably from dietary plant sources. Butter is excluded because it is already included in the milk and derivatives food category |
| Butter and other animal fats | 4 portions/day of 10 g (40 g/day) | ||
| Nuts and seed | Walnuts, peanuts, almonds, seeds, etc. | 2.5 portions/week of 30 g (75 g/week) | ↑ 40–50 g/day |
| Water | Water | At least 10 glasses of 200 mL/day (2 L/day) | n.s. |
n.s.: not specified. ×: the portions reported for the food included in that category are alternatives and not additive (e.g., for “fruits,” 150 g of fresh fruit OR 30 g of dried fruit); *: subcategory for which it is possible to have a lower frequency of consumption and increasing the consumption of other foods from the same category, according to the Italian dietary guidelines (IDG). ≠: food category with different recommendations between the IDG and EAT-IT but not clearly definable in terms of whether the amount is higher, equal, or lower. ↑↓ higher or lower recommendations, respectively, in the EAT-IT dietary pattern compared to the IDG.