The Food Pyramid: What should you be eating?

The food pyramid helps you decide what and how much to eat from each food group each day. You will get the nutrients you need without too many calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar, cholesterol, alcohol, or sodium. The Food Pyramid will keep your fat intake low, which will keep you healthy and help you maintain a healthy weight.

The dietary guidelines for Americans:

1. To get the energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need for good health eat a variety of foods.

2. Balancing the food you eat with physical activity will maintain or improve your weight to decrease your chances of having high blood pressure, a stroke, heart disease, certain cancers, and the most common kind of diabetes.

3. Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, vegetables, and fruits which provide needed fiber, vitamins, minerals, and complex carbohydrates. This can also help you lower your fat intake.

4. Choosing a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol can reduce your risk of heart attack and certain types of cancer, and it will also help you maintain a healthy weight.

5. Choose a diet moderate in sugars. A diet with lots of sugars has too much calories and too little nutrients for most people and can contribute to tooth decay.

6. Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium to help decrease your risk of high blood pressure.

7. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. Alcoholic beverages supply many calories, but little or no nutrients. Drinking alcohol is also the cause of several health problems and accidents and can lead to addiction.

The Food Guide Pyramid suggests food from the 5 major food groups. Each group will provide essential nutrients needed, but not all of the nutrients needed are in any one group. A combination of every group is necessary to receive all of the necessary nutrients. The tip of the food pyramid shows fats, oils, and sweets. It’s the smallest section of the food pyramid because these foods provide more calories than nutrients. Use these foods sparingly if you are trying to lose weight.

What serving size is right for me?
The serving size that is right for you depends on how many calories you need, which in turn depends on your age, size, sex, and your level of activity. Most people should have the lowest number of servings.

A general daily caloric guideline for adults and teens is:
1600 calories a day for most sedentary women and some older adults.

2,200 calories a day for teenage girls, active women, and most sedentary men. Women who are breastfeeding or are pregnant may require more.

2,800 calories a day for teenage boys, many active men, and some active women. What’s the best way to lose weight?

The best and simplest way to lose weight is to increase your physical activity, in addition to healthy eating, which will reduce the fat and sugars in your diet.

Make sure to eat at least the lowest number of servings from each of the five major food groups in the Food Guide Pyramid. You need them for the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein they provide so don’t skip any. Try to pick the lowest fat choices from the food groups.

Healthy eating is critical in any weight loss program. Use this food pyramid as a general guideline to determine what your basic nutritional needs are to maintain a healthy weight.

For more detailed information, please visit the government site for the Food Guide Pyramid.