The Food Guide Pyramid

A Guide to Daily Food Choices!

Food Pyramid – Background Introduced in 1992 by the USDA Goal was to help Americans use

the Dietary Guidelines to choose foods for a healthy diet. Nutritional Goals Usability Goals

Why a “Pyramid” Considered images like a plate, a

bowl and even a shopping cart. Image of pyramid conveyed

concepts of moderation, variety, proportion.

Most recognized nutritional symbol ever used.

Where did we go wrong? Misconceptions of

serving size USDA – food pyramid FDA – food labels Real Life

Where did we go wrong? Promotes “Fat is bad” attitude

Not all fats are created equal. Monounsaturated and

Polyunsaturated increases HDL or “good cholesterol”.

Saturated fats and trans-unsaturated fats increase LDL or “bad cholesterol”.

What’s a good fat? All kinds of nuts and seeds

Peanuts, walnuts, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Eat like a bird. Select lightly salted or unsalted. Avoid “honey roasted” and

“chocolate covered”. Fish Olive, canola, corn, sunflower,

vegetable oils

What’s a bad fat? Red meat Butter, Margarine,

Ice cream, Whole Milk Commercially baked foods

(hydrogenated oil) Fried Foods

“freedom” fries, Tim Horton timbits, battered fish fry

If “Fat is bad” then “Carbs are good”.

Only sometimes Whole grain – high fiber Proportion size If not used, converted and stored

as fat.

Pyramid hasn’t changed with advances in nutritional research.

Lots of discussion Revised and available sometime in 2005

“Dowdy old lady who never got a new wardrobe”

WATER

VMP Your Dinner Plate

Fruits and

Vegetables

Protein Starch

The MOST Important Thing…

EAT ONLY when you are HUNGRY!

STOP

when you

are FULL!