Grain foods serve as an important source of energy, essential nutrients, and sometimes fiber. Recognizing that fiber continues to be identified as a nutrient of public health priority, there is an urgent need to address the ongoing fiber intake deficit. The focus in dietary guidance on whole grains as a source of fiber from the grains food group has not improved levels of fiber consumption. Consumer confusion around whole grains and fiber, combined with the wide range of fiber amounts found in whole-grain-labeled products, suggests that the current recommendation to "make half your grains whole" may be oversimplified in its intent to support increased fiber intakes. Nutrition educators and policy makers need to bring the conversation back to balancing all grain food choices, including enriched grains, whole grains, bran-based grain foods, and other grain-based foods with fiber, with greater emphasis on differentiating grain foods by the fiber they deliver. Changes in labeling, policy recommendations, and consumer messages are needed to help make this happen.

Dietary guidance aimed at increasing consumption of vegetables has had limited success. Despite extensive nutrition education efforts, Americans continue to fall short of daily goals for total vegetable intake, as well as for the majority of the vegetable subgroup recommendations in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A new approach may be needed to help improve vegetable intake. The present analysis compares the nutrient content of commonly consumed vegetables in the United States to identify the vegetables among these that provide the most key nutrients in the greatest amounts. The results confirm that all selections within the vegetable group are not nutritionally interchangeable, supporting a targeted education approach that would encourage consumers to choose the most nutrient-rich options among the vegetables they currently eat most often. This approach underscores the Dietary Guidelines recommendation to choose more nutrient-dense foods within and among food groups, a strategy already being used to encourage specific nutrient-dense choices within other foods groups. Nutrition professionals can continue to emphasize variety within the vegetable group and vegetable subgroups while offering additional guidance on choosing vegetables that provide the most nutrients and, for individuals who find it difficult to increase their vegetable intake, substituting nutrient-rich vegetables for those with fewer nutrients. The potential benefits include greater intakes of nutrients identified as falling short in the diets of Americans. Nutr Today. 2Ü11;46(3):13O-137

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