Dietary Guidelines and the Food Pyramid
When it comes to eating, it seems like there are a bewildering number of rules to follow. What foods fit into a healthy diet? How much of each kind of food should you eat? These questions are addressed by the federal government in the Dietary Guidelines and the Food Pyramid.
In early 2005, the government released the sixth edition of the Dietary Guidelines, which use the latest scientific information to provide advice on making dietary decisions that promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases. The Dietary Guidelines recommend you:
- Consume a variety of nutrient-rich foods and beverages, including vegetables, fruits, whole grain products and low-fat dairy products.
- Limit your intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt and alcohol.
If you eat a well-balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight, you can reduce your chances of having high blood pressure, heart disease, a stroke, certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.
What else can you do to promote health and stay fit? Exercise, of course! The Dietary Guidelines recommend engaging in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intense physical activity on most days of the week. To help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body weight gain as you get older, engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on most days of the week.
To help you put these recommendations into practice, the government recently released the new Food Pyramid. Instead of a one-size-fits-all pyramid, there are now 12 different versions, each based on a person’s age, sex, and level of physical activity. To find out which pyramid (and therefore, eating plan) you should follow, check out www.mypyramid.gov.
If you’ve already visited the site, you might be overwhelmed and unsure of what food choices to make. Here’s what you need to know in order to interpret the new Food Pyramid:
- The colored, vertical stripes each represent a food group: grains (orange), vegetables (green), fruits (red), oils (yellow), dairy products (blue), and meat and beans (purple). The stripes are wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, to show you that not all food groups are of the same value.
- The new Food Pyramid tells you how much of each food group to eat every day, which the earlier Pyramid failed to explain clearly. In general, aim for three ounces of grains, two and a half cups of vegetables, two cups of fruit, three cups of milk, five and a half ounces of meat or beans, and only a small amount (six to seven teaspoons) of fats and oils.
- The stick figure going up the stairs reminds you not to view a healthful lifestyle in terms of food alone. It’s just as important to exercise on a regular basis.
Hopefully, the Dietary Guidelines and the Food Pyramid help you make better dietary choices for you and your family. What you really need to remember is to choose nutrient-dense foods, plus watch your portion sizes and get some exercise every day.
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