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In 2005, the government reorganized its Food Guide Pyramid and individualized it. This means that each person has his or her own specific pyramid. Instead of horizontal divisions, the divisions are now vertical, with each one having a thickness that corresponds to the amount of that food group that you should be eating. Your amount depends on your age, sex, and level of physical activity. If you go to United States Department of Agriculture's My Pyramid site , you can plug in a few numbers and get specific recommendations for your personalized Food Guide Pyramid, along with a host of additional nutrition information.
The old recommendations for servings are gone from this Pyramid. They were confusing. People can relate to amounts like ounces and cups much more easily. The new pyramid consists of the following food groups, in the recommended order of consumption, more to less:
- Grains: The health benefits of grains include reduction in heart disease, constipation, diabetes, and cancer. They also help with weight management. The government wants you to eat plenty of grains, which they help you to calculate, the amount depending on your calorie needs. You should be eating whole grains, grains that contain the whole grain kernel, such as whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, whole cornmeal, and brown rice. The government wants you to eat less refined grain, such as white flour, white bread, and white rice.
- Vegetables: You should be eating more dark green vegetables, more orange vegetables, and more dry beans and peas. The health benefits of vegetables are reductions in strokes, diabetes, weight, and loss of bone. The amount you need to consume varies from 1 cup to 3 cups a day based on your age, sex, and level of activity.
- Fruits: You need to eat a variety of different fruits, and the amount varies from 1 to 2 cups a day. They can be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried. Fruits benefit you by reducing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer.
- Milk and dairy products: This group includes dairy and cheese. You get the benefit of larger bone mass and reduction of osteoporosis from this group. Consume 2 to 3 cups of milk or something else from this group each day.
- Proteins: Meat and beans fit the bill here. The instruction is to "go lean on protein," and you should eat no more than 2 to 6-1/2 ounces of protein daily. Proteins give you vitamins, iron, magnesium, and zinc. They are also the building blocks for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood. Fish, nuts, and seeds, which provide fat in a better form (unsaturated fat), are preferred to beef, which contains more saturated fat and cholesterol, the fats that lead to arteriosclerosis. Beans are also a good source of protein.
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