The Food Guide Pyramid - Beyond the Basic 4

What's the Best Nutrition Advice?

It's following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. These are seven guidelines for a healthful diet—advice for healthy Americans age 2 and older. By following the Dietary Guidelines, you can enjoy better health and reduce your chances of getting certain diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, certain cancers, and the most common type of diabetes. These Guidelines are the best, most up-to-date advice from nutrition experts.

• Eat a variety of foods.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
• Choose a diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and grain products.
• Use sugars only in moderation.
• Use salt and sodium only in moderation.
• If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

What Is the Food Guide Pyramid?

The Food Guide Pyramid is an outline of what to eat each day based on the Dietary Guidelines. It's not a rigid prescription, but a general guide that lets you choose a healthful diet that's right for you.

The Pyramid calls for eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients you need and, at the same time, the right amount of calories to maintain a healthy weight.

Use the Pyramid to help you eat better every day—the Dietary Guidelines way. Start with plenty of breads, cereals, rice, pasta, vegetables, and fruits. Add 2 to 3 servings from the milk group and 2 to 3 servings from the meat group. Remember to go easy on fats, oils, and sweets—the foods in the small tip of the Pyramid.

The Food Guide Pyramid

A Guide to Daily Food Choices

These symbols show fat and added sugars in foods. They come mostly from the fats, oils, and sweets group. But foods in other groups—such as cheese or ice cream from the milk group or french fries from the vegetable group—can also provide fat and added sugars.

Looking at the Pieces of the Pyramid

The Food Guide Pyramid emphasizes foods from the five major food groups shown in the three lower sections of the Pyramid. Each of these food groups provides some, but not all, of the nutrients you need. Foods in one group can't replace those in another. There is not one of these major food groups that is more important than another—for good health, you need them all.

What Counts As One Serving?

The amount of food that counts as one serving is listed below. If you eat a larger portion, count it as more than one serving. For example, a dinner portion of spaghetti would count as 2 or 3 servings of pasta.

Be sure to eat at least the lowest number of servings from the five major food groups listed below. You need them for the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein they provide. Just try to pick the lowest-fat choices from the food groups. No specific serving size is given for the fats, oils, and sweets group because the message is USE SPARINGLY.

Food Groups

Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese

• 1 cup of milk or yogurt
• 1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese
• 2 ounces of processed cheese

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts

• 2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
• 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter counts as 1 ounce of lean meat.

Vegetables

• 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
• 1/2 cup of other vegetables cooked or raw
• 3/4 cup of vegetable juice

Fruits

• 1 medium apple, banana, or orange
• 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
• 3/4 cup of fruit juice

Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta

• 1 slice of bread
• 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal
• 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta

How to Make the Pyramid Work for You

The Food Guide Pyramid shows a range of servings for each major food group. The number of servings that is right for you depends on how many calories you need—which in turn depends on your age, sex, size, and how active you are. Almost everyone should have at least the lowest number of servings in the ranges.

Now take a look at the table below. It tells you how many servings of each major food group you need for your calorie level. It also tells you the total grams of fat recommended for each calorie level. The Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans limit fat in their diets to 30% of calories. This includes the fat in the foods you choose, as well as the fat used in cooking or added at the table.

How many servings do you need each day?

*These are the calorie levels if you choose low-fat, lean foods from the five major food groups and foods from the fats, oils, and sweets group sparingly.

**Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, teenagers, and young adults age 24 and younger need 3 servings.

Pyramid Pointers . . .

Selection Tips for Building a Better Diet

The most effective way to moderate the amount of fat and added sugars in your diet is to cut down on "extras"—foods in the sixth food group (fats, oils, and sweets). Also choose lower-fat and lower-sugar foods from the other five food groups often. Here are some tips:

Fats, Oils, and Sweets

Use Sparingly

• Go easy on fats and sugars added to foods in cooking or at the table—such as butter, margarine, gravy, salad dressing, sugar, and jelly.
• Choose fewer foods that are high in sugars—such as candy, sweet desserts, and soft drinks.

Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group

6 to 11 Servings

• To get the fiber you need, choose several servings a day of foods made from whole grains.
• Choose foods that are made with a small amount of fat or sugar, such as bread, English muffins, rice, and pasta.
• Go easy on the fat and sugars you add as spreads, seasonings, or toppings.
• When preparing pasta, stuffing, and sauce from packaged mixes, use only half the butter or margarine suggested; if milk or cream is called for, use low-fat milk.

Vegetable Group

3 to 5 Servings

• Different types of vegetables provide different nutrients. Eat a variety.
• Include dark green leafy vegetables and legumes several times a week—they are especially good sources of vitamins and minerals. Legumes also provide protein and can be used in place of meat.
• Go easy on the fat you add to vegetables at the table or during cooking. Added spreads or toppings—such as butter, mayonnaise, and salad dressing—count as fat.
• Use low-fat salad dressing.

Fruit Group

2 to 4 Servings

• Choose fresh fruits, fruit juices, and frozen, canned, or dried fruit. Go easy on fruits canned or frozen in heavy syrups and sweetened fruit juices.
• Eat whole fruits often—they are higher in fiber than fruit juices.
• Count only 100% fruit juice as fruit. Punches, ades, and most fruit drinks contain only a little juice.

Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group

2 to 3 Servings

• Choose skim milk and nonfat yogurt often. They are lowest in fat.
• 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of cheese and 8 ounces of yogurt count as a serving from this group because they supply the same amount of calcium as 1 cup of milk.
• Choose "part skim" or low-fat cheeses when available and lower-fat milk desserts, such as ice milk or frozen yogurt. Read labels.

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group

2 to 3 Servings

• Choose lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, dry beans, and peas often. These are the choices lowest in fat.
• Prepare meats in low-fat ways:

-Trim away all the fat you can see.

-Remove skin from poultry.

-Broil, roast, or boil these foods instead of frying them.

• Nuts and seeds are high in fat, so eat them in moderation.

Source: United States Department of Agriculture and United States Department of Health and Human Services