Food Guide Pyramid

Steps towards the pyramids

The initial USDA - Pyramid divided the three groups: carbohydrates, vegetables and proteins into six new groups:

I carbohydrates: Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta

''Vegetables into''

II Vegetables

III Fruits

''Proteins into subgroups:''

IV Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry - Beans Eggs & Nuts

V Milk, Yogurt and Cheese

VI Fats, Oils (& Sweets which are not proteins)

DESCRIPTION OF THE 1992 FOOD PYRAMID

Released in 1992 , the food pyramid suggested how much of each food category one should eat each day. The food guide pyramid replaced the four Food Groups . On April 19 , 2005 , the USDA released the food guide pyramid's successor, MyPyramid .

The original food guiding pyramid, informally known as the '''food pyramid''', was a Nutrition guide created by the USDA .

This initial pyramid became famous throughout the world, and was, in some way, an American icon. One issue that this pyramid had was that it was seen as too rigid; the new pyramid relects the idea that a diet should be shaped according to an individual's needs. The old pyramid allowed to consume the foods within a certain range of servings, but gave no hint on how to interpret that choice.

In general terms the food guide pyramid recommends the following intake of different food groups each day, although exact amounts of Calorie intake depends on sex, age, and lifestyle:

6-11 servings a day of Grain foods including Rice , Bread , Cereals , and Pasta ;

3-5 servings a day of Vegetables , especially green, leafy vegetables;

2-4 servings of Fruits a day;

2-3 servings of Meat , Fish , Eggs , Nuts , or Bean s a day;

2-3 servings of Dairy products including Cheese and Yogurt every other day;

sparing use of fats, oils, and sweets; or can be 2-4 times in two months. (7 tsp Oil per day)

USDA FOOD PYRAMID 2005

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In 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a completely new pyramid on its websites, featuring the newest technology, like individualized plans and statistical tools on their interactive system. These websites are mainly: MyPyramid.gov and MyPyramid Tracker . It cannot be understood by looking at the diagram as it was the purpose of the 1992 pyramid. Instead the website should be consulted providing the user minimal information in a total of three questions about age, sex and physical activity. The result is a standardized diet based on the three inputs the user made.

The new food pyramid is compared, and very similar to the Dieatary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH eating plan). Serving sizes have been slightly adjusted within each food group.

As new micronutrients were discovered the development of the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference had begun, listing all possible kinds of foods and their nutritional value in macro- and micronutrients.
The new pyramid is based on new and more accurate information about the relationship between those micronutrients and the prevention of life - expectancy related diseases like heart disease or cancer as well as common diseases like osteoporosis or diabetes. It provides much more details about how much to consume and always offers one of 12 calorie plans which are all very sensible and balanced diets ranging from 1,600 to 2,??? calories per day with only about 300 free calories for the individual to consume without any guidance. It is now possible to supply the energy needs in calories that individuals have based on a balanced diet that focuses on significant amounts of fresh vegetables and fruits which have immunological functions providing the necessary micronutrients necessary for regeneration and life, complementing with the minimum of necessary fats to digest de liposoluble vitamins contained in the vegetables as well as fibers and grains that help establishing digestive regularity while providing structural micronutrients for the human skelleton like calcium from its natural source: milk, and thereby preventing osteoporosis. The caloric needs and the needs of calcium are based on the intensity of physical activity and the age of the individual.

Newest Innovations

Measuring quantities in ''cups'' instead of '' Serving Size ''

--The grains are now measured in Ounces

--The "cups" of dairy products still are defined with the following exception "1 Oz of natural cheese or 2Oz of process cheese count as one cup", helping lactose intolerant people to meet their needs for calcium from natural sources while ingesting minimal quantities of lactose.

It includes a new symbol: "Physical Activity" (The person on the stairs)

Inlcudes 12 different plans The Twelve Pyramids

The extensive Literature Guidelines

mypyramidtracker.gov tracker : Track what you eat. See graphical statistics over time and improve your nutrition.

Introductory Video

a sample menu

sample menu

Structure

Food Volume

This is basically a low-calorie diet providing a balanced intake of as many different micronutrients a possible based on large ingestions of vegetables, fruits and milk.

The 2.400 calorie plan asks for about 10 cups of food which is about 2.4 Liters or 79 Oz.
''(If every mL of food provided 1 Cal on the average of this diet, then the 1.600 Cal plan would be 1.600 mL or 1.6 L of food - volume)''.

See also: The Twelve Pyramids

The empty stomach has a volume of about 1 Liter. It can be distended up to 3 Liters or forced into 4 Liters. A "normal" feeling of satiation different from dull fullness can be expected at about 1.5 Liters (30 Oz.)

Liquid / Solid substitution:
a) Fruit group: subsitute fruits for the same volume of fruit - juice
b) Milk group: subsitute milk for the same volume of yogurt or each cup for 2 Oz. of process cheese.

5 Food Groups

The groups arranged top-down in order of quantities to consume

# Vegetables: About 3 cups recommended: Contain essential micronutrients (i.e. vitamins and minerals) necessary for internal regeneration and provide immunological functions. For example Vitamin A is essential for the regeneration of internal mucosal membranes; vitamin D is necessary to make the digestive absorption of calcium into the bloodstream possible.
# Fruits: Different and probably slightly less fundamental micronutrients. Sweeter taste and only a few more calories than vegetables. (about 2 cups)
# Milk: A healty and as far as known "risk-free" source of protein. 3 cups of milk provide aprox. 1 gram (or 1,000 mg) of calcium together, which is the recommended daily amount of calcium to strengthen bones (preventing osteoporosis), teeth, nails and hair. The bodily functions that require calcium require other micronutrients as well: copper and vitamin D. Lactose intolerant people may substitute one cup of milk for 2 Oz. of process cheese. Milk is a good and natural source of protein.
# Grains: Necessary to maintain digestive regularity. Only to ingest in smaller quantities.
# Meat & Beans: About 6.5 Oz. recommended. As always substitute red meat for white meat (poultry), poultry for fish (salon, tuna) and fish for beans.

Physical Activity to Expend Calories

A good idea might be to perform daily physical activity to at least expend as many calories as have been eaten from "unhealthy" food.

the USDA Activity Clasifications give ranges for physical activities which can be tracked at mypyramidtracker.gov

Food that is not entirely healthy might be everything that contains preservatives and artificial sweeteners (the strange names on the label). Just add the calories for all that stuff plus the "sweets" you eat and do the exercise for it every day or at least excessively a few days a week to make up for the days where you don't. Do the math on "unhealthy" calories eaten and calories expended from physical activity

HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

The Harvard School of Public Health proposes some information about a different pyramid. They include calcium and multi-vitamin supplements as well as moderate amounts of alcohol. HSPH food pyramids

CRITICISM

The worldwide problem of Obesity is increasing in the developed world as well as in developing countries. Therefore it is thought that there might be a fundamental flaw in the guidance as implemented by public agencies such as schools, etc.

see also: The Twelve Pyramids

It is alleged that the research leading to the construction of the food guide pyramid was partially funded by the meat, dairy, sugar and grain industries, or that the pyramid reflects lobbying by these industries. It is worth noting that the USDA is responsible for promoting agricultural commerce, rather than the health of American citizens. This has led to a number of allegations:

The new pyramid can only be followed by entering the right values for age, sex an physical activity on www.mypyramid.gov. People without access to internet can only use the 1992 pyramid if they locate it within the available literature, since it is not being printed on food packaging anymore.

The general rules are still not easy enough to follow and they contain an exception. It is necessary to click on "inside the pyramid" and to familiarize oneself with the different categories of foods and to further understand the categories in which every group is subdivided again. Moreover less than half of the foods do have pictures associated to them.

The concrete sample menu is impractical. It leads to spoilage because it suggests to use minimal quantities of perishable foods which are sold in much larger packaging or raw form. The sample menu is allegedly based on computerized queries to their nutritional database and lacks the common sense about storage of foods. This might be because the database is focused on nutritional value and not on the shelf life of the foods

Some feel that this biased the research towards including higher amounts of meat and dairy produce in the food pyramid than are actually healthy, and that modern nutritional research suggests that the amounts of meat and dairy produce suggested is too high. This has caused some Nutritionist s to suggest following a Vegan diet, or at least a diet with reduced quantities of meat and dairy produce.

Others feel that high- Glycemic Carbohydrate foods such as potatoes, pasta and grains receive too much emphasis. These foods are placed in the largest box in the pyramid.

Many people claim that sweets and most oils and fats are entirely unnecessary and have no place in the pyramid. At that same time, some oils are now seen as essential parts of the diet, but the difference is not reflected in the pyramid (see Essential Fatty Acid )

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Food Guide Pyramid

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