Food Pyramid diet plan

Ever wish there was a quick-reference guide to remind you of the basics of good nutrition and healthy eating? If it's tough for you to track how many grains, meats, fruits, veggies, and dairy products you need each day, just think back to the food groups or food pyramid that we learned about as kids. Today’s food pyramid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is new and improved, with even more great information to help everyone eat their way to good health.

The Food Pyramid for Nutrition Guidance: The Changes

Figuring out the food groups has actually become a little easier in recent years. "The look of the food pyramid has changed, " notes Sandra Meyerowitz, MPH, RD, a nutritionist, online nutritional coach, and owner of Nutrition Works in Louisville, Ky. Vertical stripes replace the old blocks.

The changes were made, she says, to make the food pyramid easier to use. "People can take a quick look and understand without going into too much detail, " says Meyerowitz. "The stripes on the pyramid are of varying widths, and that's to represent that you need more of some foods and less of others." For instance, the food pyramid stripes are thicker for grains, fruits, and vegetables to emphasize their importance and thinner for oils and meats because they are to be eaten more sparingly.

It's important to remember though that the food pyramid is meant to be a guide to good nutrition, not a set of hard and fast rules. "The pyramid is based on the average adult, " says Meyerowitz. "It doesn't take into consideration special dietary concerns or children."

The Food Pyramid for Nutrition Guidance: How to Use It

The new pyramid format gives you daily quantity totals for each of the food groups, then allows you to divide those amounts up into however many servings you want — of course, the more servings, the smaller each one will be.

According to Meyerowitz, once you become familiar with the food pyramid and the different types of food groups it contains, there are quick ways to translate the nutrition recommendations directly to your plate. Meyerowitz suggests mentally breaking your plate into quarters at each meal. One half of your plate should be covered with vegetables, she says. One quarter should be taken up with protein, and the last quarter with whole grains. Think of fruit as a side dish or even dessert. "It's an easy way without using any calculations or measurements to know you're on the right track. The hallmarks of good nutrition are balance, variety, and moderation, " explains Meyerowitz.

The Food Pyramid for Nutrition Guidance: A Snapshot