Understanding the Food Guide Pyramid

The food guide pyramid is an easy to understand tool developed by the United States government to help Americans determine what they should include in their diet and how much of a particular food type they should eat each day. This useful model breaks a day's diet down into 6 parts. There is a part for grains, fruits, vegetables, meats/beans, dairy, and fats/sweets. Basically, your daily diet should consist of:

6 servings of grains per day (breads, pasta, rice, etc.)
3 servings of vegetables per day (peas, carrots, tomatoes, etc.)
3 servings of dairy per day (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.)
2 servings of meat/beans per day (chicken, eggs, peanuts, etc.)
2 servings of fruits per day (apples, oranges, grapes, etc.)
Few to no servings of fats/sweets per day (candy, baked goods, chips, etc.)

The items at the bottom of the pyramid should be consumed most and the items at the top of the pyramid consumed least. This pyramid is based on an average 2,000-2,500 calorie diet. The food guide pyramid actually got a face lift in 2006, as the US government wanted it to be even easier for Americans to eat a diet that is good for them. This new pyramid is still brightly colored, but it now looks like steps; so that you can also see that you should be getting regular exercise to keep your body health and performing efficiently. They also have now made the online version interactive, so that you can see exactly what you should eat per day according to your age, gender, and activity level. See it at http://www.mypyramid.gov

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