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 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 2-3 servings from the milk group and 2-3 servings from the meat group. Remember to go easy on fats, oils, and sweets, the foods in the small tip of the Pyramid.
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 1 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.
Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese 1 cup of milk or yogurt / 1 1/2 ounces of natural cheese / 2 ounces of process cheese
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish / 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter count as 1 ounce of lean meat
Vegetable 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables / 1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw / 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Fruit 1 medium apple, banana, orange / 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit / 3/4 cup of fruit juice
Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta 1 slice of bread / 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal / 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta ---------- Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group 6-11 Servings
* To get the fiber you need, choose several servings a day of foods made from whole grains.
* Choose most often foods that are made with little fat or sugars, like 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 lowfat milk.
Vegetable Group 3-5 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.
Fruit Group 2-4 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 percent fruit juice as fruit. Punches, ades, and most fruit "drinks" contain only a little juice and lots of added sugars.
Milk, Yogurt, & Cheese 2-3 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 lowfat cheeses when available and lower fat milk desserts, like ice milk or frozen yogurt. Read labels.
Meat, Poultry, Fish 2-3 Servings
* Choose lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, and dry beans and peas often. they are the choices lowest in fat.
* Prepare meats in lowfat ways: o Trim away all the fat you can see. o Remove skin from poultry. o Broil, roast, or boil these foods instead of frying them.
* Nuts and seeds are high in fat, so eat them in moderation.
Fats, Oils, & Sweets Use Sparingly
* Go easy on fats and sugars added to foods in cooking or at the table--butter, margarine, gravy, salad dressing, sugar, and jelly.
* Choose fewer foods that are high in sugars--candy, sweet desserts, and soft drinks.
* The most effective way to moderate the amount of fat and added sugars in your diet is to cut down on "extras" (foods in this group). Also choose lower fat and lower sugar foods from the other five food groups often.
Clare, you're right; there has been a change that I didn't catch.
The Healthy Eating Pyramid sits on a foundation of daily exercise and weight control. Why? These two related elements strongly influence your chances of staying healthy. They also affect what and how you eat and how your food affects you. The other bricks of the Healthy Eating Pyramid include:
* Whole Grain Foods (at most meals). The body needs carbohydrates mainly for energy. The best sources of carbohydrates are whole grains such as oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and brown rice. They deliver the outer (bran) and inner (germ) layers along with energy-rich starch. The body can't digest whole grains as quickly as it can highly processed carbohydrates such as white flour. This keeps blood sugar and insulin levels from rising, then falling, too quickly. Better control of blood sugar and insulin can keep hunger at bay and may prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. * Plant Oils. Surprised that the Healthy Eating Pyramid puts some fats near the base, indicating they are okay to eat? Although this recommendation seems to go against conventional wisdom, it's exactly in line with the evidence and with common eating habits. The average American gets one third or more of his or her daily calories from fats, so placing them near the foundation of the pyramid makes sense. Note, though, that it specifically mentions plant oils, not all types of fat. Good sources of healthy unsaturated fats include olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, peanut, and other vegetable oils, as well as fatty fish such as salmon. These healthy fats not only improve cholesterol levels (when eaten in place of highly processed carbohydrates) but can also protect the heart from sudden and potentially deadly rhythm problems.(3) * Vegetables (in abundance) and Fruits (2 to 3 times). A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can decrease the chances of having a heart attack or stroke; protect against a variety of cancers; lower blood pressure; help you avoid the painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis; guard against cataract and macular degeneration, the major cause of vision loss among people over age 65; and add variety to your diet and wake up your palate. * Fish, Poultry, and Eggs (0 to 2 times). These are important sources of protein. A wealth of research suggests that eating fish can reduce the risk of heart disease. Chicken and turkey are also good sources of protein and can be low in saturated fat. Eggs, which have long been demonized because they contain fairly high levels of cholesterol, aren't as bad as they're cracked up to be. In fact, an egg is a much better breakfast than a doughnut cooked in an oil rich in trans fats or a bagel made from refined flour. * Nuts and Legumes (1 to 3 times). Nuts and legumes are excellent sources of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Legumes include black beans, navy beans, garbanzos, and other beans that are usually sold dried. Many kinds of nuts contain healthy fats, and packages of some varieties (almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios) can now even carry a label saying they're good for your heart. * Dairy or Calcium Supplement (1 to 2 times). Building bone and keeping it strong takes calcium, vitamin D, exercise, and a whole lot more. Dairy products have traditionally been Americans' main source of calcium. But there are other healthy ways to get calcium than from milk and cheese, which can contain a lot of saturated fat. Three glasses of whole milk, for example, contains as much saturated fat as 13 strips of cooked bacon. If you enjoy dairy foods, try to stick with no-fat or low-fat products. If you don't like dairy products, calcium supplements offer an easy and inexpensive way to get your daily calcium. * Red Meat and Butter (Use Sparingly): These sit at the top of the Healthy Eating Pyramid because they contain lots of saturated fat. If you eat red meat every day, switching to fish or chicken several times a week can improve cholesterol levels. So can switching from butter to olive oil. * White Rice, White Bread, Potatoes, White Pasta, Soda, and Sweets (Use Sparingly): Why are these all-American staples at the top, rather than the bottom, of the Healthy Eating Pyramid? They can cause fast and furious increases in blood sugar that can lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic disorders. Whole-grain carbohydrates cause slower, steadier increases in blood sugar that don't overwhelm the body's ability to handle this much needed but potentially dangerous nutrient. * Multiple Vitamin: A daily multivitamin, multimineral supplement offers a kind of nutritional backup. While it can't in any way replace healthy eating, or make up for unhealthy eating, it can fill in the nutrient holes that may sometimes affect even the most careful eaters. You don't need an expensive name-brand or designer vitamin. A standard, store-brand, RDA-level one is fine. Look for one that meets the requirements of the USP (U.S. Pharmacopeia), an organization that sets standards for drugs and supplements. * Alcohol (in moderation): Scores of studies suggest that having an alcoholic drink a day lowers the risk of heart disease. Moderation is clearly important, since alcohol has risks as well as benefits. For men, a good balance point is 1 to 2 drinks a day; in general, however, the risks of drinking, even in moderation, exceed benefits until middle age. For women, it's at most one drink a day.
Posts: 17656 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Is malnutrition a big problem in the United States?
(I only ask because of references to 'all the nutrients you need'. I hadn't appreciated that you needed expert help and charts, effort and research, to do what nature, instinct, and the richest country in the world could not and did not provide without any effort on your part whatsoever )
Surprisingly, Fred, it is, if you take the literal meaning of the word. Many people don't eat right, and many young people eat more junk food than real food during the course of an average day. Seeing 250-300 pound kids is middle school was a rare occurrence a generation ago. Now it is common. Portion sizes at restaurants are now 2-3 times what guidelines suggest for an average meal.
This gives some indication of what is wrong with our diets. The world's largest purchaser of sugar and sweetening products is Coca Cola, and I don't think it goes to corporate headquarters to sit next to the coffee pot.
Posts: 17656 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Yes, DG, but surely these children are not malnourished, in that they get all the nutrients they need. The problem is that they learn to eat far more, and far more of the fattening,or sugary or salty, food than is good for them. A man who is grossly obese is a candidate for heart failure, and much else.
At a purely personal level, it's never worried me that I get enormous portions in the States. I weigh about 8 stone 5 (117 lbs),in my overweight 60s (As a much younger man, I weighed 7 stone 10, 108lbs, without making any effort) And there is the problem for people: I've noticed that, not only do I not eat everything on the plate, but I do have a tendency to eat fish or steak and other foods which are not fattening. I can't stand most salads, so do eat chips (fries) but prefer jacket potato (potato baked whole).That, more than metabolism, seems a likelier explanation for being overweight, or not, than the size of the portion.
I'm not saying that they go to bed hungry, although hunger due to poverty is still with us in America. I'm saying that they don't get much nourishment from what they do eat. Burgers, fries, soda, and Twinkies don't quite have all the vitamins and minerals a growing child needs. For many of these kids, the only vegetables they get is with or on the burger.
Posts: 17656 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Originally posted by DorianGreyed: Burgers, fries, soda, and Twinkies don't quite have all the vitamins and minerals a growing child needs.
But they do! (Possibly including the Twinkies, whatever they are ) The evidence to the contrary would be the evidence of vitamin or mineral deficiency or of restricted growth or development. The problem is that the growth is as much outwards as upwards.It is not that 'junk food' is not nourishing food, it is, but it provides a lot of other stuff in the process of consumption.In getting his vitamins and everything else the kid is getting a lot of fat and starch and too much salt.Heck, even I eat a Big Mac and large 'fries' from time to time, though I prefer battered fish, deep fried, with a load of chips (thick cut fries) viz 'fish and chips'.To eat the Big Mac, I'm expected to eat through three layers of bun!
I tell you what though, if I were so obsessed about good or bad diet as to wade through all the stuff in charts like the ones above, with all that text, I'd lose weight . I'd either have no time to eat or I'd end up like Buridan's ass (the animal, not his rear end)
Now where is that American- style doughnut? It's more slimming than ours. The American one has a low-calorie hole. Ours has a big calorie dollop of jam inside a ball of dough.
Originally posted by FredPuli: That, more than metabolism, seems a likelier explanation for being overweight, or not, than the size of the portion.
It's a combination of things, not the least of which is genetics. Another thing I want to add about the North American diet, is that it is really inexpensive to eat junk food here. Eating out here costs half as much as it does in the UK.
You never had a Twinkie, Fred? You aren't missing much. Here
Another thing I want to add about the North American diet, is that it is really inexpensive to eat junk food here.
The Economist Big Mac Index gives the price of a Big Mac as $3-41 in the US and $4-01 in Britain (as at July 2007: exchange rate $2-01 =£1 )
But eating out in an ordinary restaurant in Britain is undoubtedly more expensive than in the US. It's more here than in most western countries (that's because of the higher quality of the cuisine here).
It's a fair bet that eating out in a 'normal' restaurant in France is as cheap or cheaper than the US; it's certainly half the price than it is in Britain; but, of course, you usually have to tolerate fresh ingredients cooked in the traditional French manner by properly trained cooks (and you know how bad that is ).And, outside of North East France, where the climate and the cooking is decidedly Germanic and northern, the food is much lower in calories. On the Med, naturally, the diet is extremely healthy. It's difficult to get ill on a diet where the 'fat' is olive oil and the main foodstuff is fish, with very little meat being consumed, and all the vegetables are fresh
Of America, I'm still wondering after all these years what kind of marketing man (surely no chef) devised 'surf n' turf'
A P.S. on American obesity, courtesy of President George W. Bush:
The British journalist June Sarpong had a conversation with Tony Blair about George W. visiting Tony Blair's constituency in Sedgfield, in the industrial North East of England. Tony Blair said that somebody there mooned at the President, so he said something by way of apology to the visiting leader. The President replied that he was not to worry: " When I was in Massachusetts a woman did that to me, and her ass was so big that she'd got 'George Bush, get the hell out of Massachusetts' on it !"
I think you misunderstand me, Fred. It is really inexpensive to eat junk food here, and it's eating out, as in restaurants, that costs half as much. McDonalds isn't the only fast food place that's cheaper. There are so many of them. I would disagree with you that a diet of junk food provides the nutrients a child needs. Kids, generally, dont eat the salads that these fast food places offer. So they aren't getting a balanced diet. Being the sort of person that can maintain a perfect body weight is a combination of genetics, as well as diet and exercise. As for the American doughnut being lower in calories; don't you know we eat the holes too?
(As a much younger man, I weighed 7 stone 10, 108lbs, without making any effort) And there is the problem for people: I've noticed that, not only do I not eat everything on the plate, but I do have a tendency to eat fish or steak and other foods which are not fattening. I can't stand most salads, so do eat chips (fries) but prefer jacket potato (potato baked whole).That, more than metabolism, seems a likelier explanation for being overweight, or not, than the size of the portion.
