How To Use the Food Pyramid

The food guide pyramid may not look the same as you remember it.  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently revamped it to be more accurate and user friendly.  Here is a handy guide to understanding the new food pyramid.  

1. Grains-The orange portion on the very left hand side of the pyramid is the section dedicated to grains.  A minimum of  3 oz. of whole grains are recommended per day for the average adult.  Grains come in the form of bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and crackers, to name a few.  It is important to choose "whole" grains to give you the most health benefits.
    
2. Vegetables-The next stripe to the right is green and stands for vegetables.  You may have as many servings of dark green leafy vegetables as you desire each day, but a minimum of 3 servings (usually ½ to 1 cup per serving) is recommended.  Vary your veggies to include all colors to get the biggest benefits out of your vegetable servings.  Dry beans also count toward your vegetable intake.
    
3. Fruits-Next step on the pyramid is the red section for fruits.  At least 2 servings are necessary to maintain optimal health.  Fresh fruits and canned or frozen varieties without added sugars or syrups are highly recommended.  Fruit juices tend to be high in sugar and limited consumption is suggested.
    
4. Milk-The light blue section of the pyramid symbolizes the milk category.  Three 8 oz. servings of milk, or products made with milk like cheese or yogurt, are necessary each day for a healthy diet.  Choose low-fat or fat-free varieties to get the most value.
    
5. Meat and Beans-The final purple section on the food pyramid is meat and beans.  5-6 oz. of these protein rich foods should be eaten daily.  All meats, including beef, poultry, and fish, as well as most beans, eggs, and peanuts fit into this category.  You probably already eat enough foods from this category, but most people need to choose leaner cuts for a more healthy diet.

Understanding the food pyramid and how to use it correctly is the first step toward making the right nutrition decisions.  Getting enough of each category is important and a great way to begin a healthy diet.  

Caution:

• Eating from all of the food categories does not guarantee weight loss. If you are interested in losing weight, you need to be concerned with Calorie intake while eating foods in each food group.

Quick Tips:

• Oils and fats should be used sparingly. Try choosing low-fat or non-fat varieties of food when available and cook with little oil and butter.
• Eat a variety of colors. Each color of vegetables and fruits has different benefits. Eating a broad range of colors ensures you are getting all the nutrients you need.

Read More ..... »

How to Calculate a 1200 Calorie Diet Based on the Food Pyramid

The Food Pyramid was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a way to help people understand the body's overall dietary needs. It categorizes foods into six groups based on their nutritional make up (grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk, and meat and beans) and outlines how much of each group should make up a person's daily diet. A 1,200 calorie diet consists of eating the smallest suggested serving of each group.

Tips For You

1. Eat three ounces of grains per day. The grains group is made up of foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, and other cereal grains. Products like bread, tortillas, crackers, and pasta fit in this category. Be sure to look for whole grains rather than refined ones. Refined grain products lose many of their essential nutrients like fiber, iron, and B vitamins.
2. Vegetables and fruits should make up the majority of your diet. Make sure you have many different colors in the vegetables you eat, so that you are getting a variety of nutrients, especially dark greens and orange vegetables. Vegetables can be fresh or frozen, but be careful with canned products as they often have a lot of added salt. Fruits can be fresh, frozen or dried. Also be careful of added sugar in canned fruits and especially in fruit juices.
3. Limit your oils to five to si teaspoons per day and only use good oils. Oils that come from fish, nuts, and vegetables are much lower in saturated and trans fats than solid fats like butter and lard.
4. Any dairy-based product, like cheese and yogurt, is a part of the milk group. Have three cups of foods in the milk group per day to give your body the necessary amount of calcium. Low-fat or fat-free milk is best because it is also much lower in calories than whole.
5. Have five ounces per day of protein-rich foods like meats, nuts, and beans. Choose the leanest cuts of meat you can find, like skinless poultry and roasts, rounds, and loins of beef and pork.

Read More ..... »