Nutrition Basics – The Food Pyramid & MyPlate
The Food Pyramid
Until recently, the National Institute of Health (NIH) had talked about a practical system to help Americans eat healthier which they called the Food Pyramid. They divided foods into six Food Groups and recommended the number of daily servings for each of the Food Groups. The macronutrients we described in previous posts, Carbohydrates, Fats & Proteins, are contained within these Food Groups. The following table was taken from the NIH website. It tells you how many servings of a specific Food Group you should eat per day. The Food Pyramid approach has been replaced by the MyPlate concept which is explained below.
|
Food Group |
Daily Servings For 2000 Calorie Meal Plan |
| Grains |
6 – 8 |
| Vegetables |
4 – 5 |
| Fruits |
4 – 5 |
| Fat-free or low fat milk and equivalent milk products |
2 – 3 |
| Lean meats, poultry and fish |
2 or less |
| Nuts, seeds and legumes |
4 – 5 per week |
ChooseMyPlate.gov
Recently the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) replaced the Food Pyramid system with this easier approach to help people more easily focus on these tips for healthy eating:
- Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
- Make at least half your grains whole grains
- Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk
- Enjoy your food, but eat less
- Avoid over-sized portions
- Drink water instead of sugary drinks
While this is helpful, many people want to know from a nutritional viewpoint how large is a serving of a specific food. That’s what I’ll cover in the next post. Check out the Learning Center at www.InsightsForHealth.com for more information. Meanwhile, please leave any comments for discussion.
For Your Health – Dr. Bob