Health Facts
Canada’s Food Guide recommends
- eating 3 to 6 servings of Grain Products for children and 6 to 8 servings for teens and adults each day depending on your age and sex
- that we eat mainly foods from the Grain Products and the Vegetables and Fruit groups
- that we enjoy a variety of foods and physical activities every day
- we choose whole grain and products that are lower in fat, sugar or salt
Canada's Food Guide (PDF, 1.7MB) provides information on how to enjoy a variety of foods from each food group every day. To obtain a copy or more information about the Food Guide click here.
How many servings do I need?
The Food Guide is developed for all Canadians two years of age and older. The amount of food you need each day depends on your age and gender and as well as how active you are. The following table shows the number of food guide servings for Grain Products based on age and gender.
| Children | Teens | Adults | ||||||
| 2-3 | 4-8 | 9-13 | 14-18 Years | 19-50 Years | 51+ Years | |||
| Girls and Boys | Females | Males | Females | Males | Females | Males | ||
| 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6-7 | 8 | 6 | 7 |
If you are very active, you may need an additional serving of grain products or vegetables and fruit.To find out more about physical activity, check out Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living.
What is a serving?
The number of servings for your age and gender may sound like a lot of food, but serving sizes are not very big. A serving size is a specific amount – it is not always the same as the portion you eat. Here are some examples:
1 serving is:
1 slice of bread (35g)
1 dinner roll (35g)
3 bread sticks
1 matzo cracker
4 melba toast crackers
175 ml (3/4 cup) of hot cereal
30 g of cold cereal
- for dense muesli-type cereal this would be about ½ cup
- for flakey cereal this may be about 1 cup of cereal
2 servings are:
1 cup of pasta
1 cup of rice
1 cup cooked couscous or bulgur
1 bagel
1 pita or tortilla
1 bun (size of a Kaiser or French roll)
1 hamburger or hotdog bun
When you serve yourself a plate of pasta, you may be having 2, 3 or more
servings of Grain Products. A sandwich – either on two slices of
bread or on a bun is two servings. Getting your grains may be easier than
you think.
The amount you eat depends on how active you are. We need between 20 minutes of vigorous activity and 60 minutes of light physical activity every day to stay healthy or improve your health.