Nutrition Pyramid

All of a sudden it seems there are multiple variations on the nutrition pyramid.

So what is the latest, greatest, most accurate food pyramid for us to stay fit and healthy?

The food pyramid took its shape because there are some foods best eaten in very small quantities, the ones at the top of the pyramid, while others are considered foundational to good health and should be eaten more regularly, those at the bottom of the pyramid.

Food labels indicate percentage of daily value found in products, which refer back to recommended values in the food pyramid.

The food pyramid, was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide guidelines for consumers about healthy eating.

The problem is that food, metabolism - the way the body uses food, is constantly the subject of ongoing research and so the recommended amounts of certain foods are continuously subject to reassessment. Recently the USDA has revised the classic food pyramid and it no longer exists in its old format.

There are now in existence several other kinds of nutrition pyramid, such as the Mediterranean food pyramid , created by Oldways, and the Healthy Eating Pyramid created by the Harvard School of Public Health.

USDA now has a new interactive pyramid scheme called MyPyramid. MyPyramid recommendations change according to your lifestyle. For example a pregnant female has different nutritional needs than a male. Critics say that even this new MyPyramid is influenced too strongly by food associations who stand to benefit from the recommendations, such as the American Meat Institute, the National Dairy Council and the Wheat Foods Council, among others.

New Dietary Guidelines

The latest nutrition pyramid guidelines underline the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight as well as an emphasis on increased physical activity.

The guidelines on fat have changed. Previously all fats were considered bad, but under the new guidelines monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are recommended to make up approximately one third of daily calories. Trans fats and saturated fats of course are still to be limited.

Previously the food pyramid talked about complex carbohydrates, whereas the newest guidelines emphasize limiting sugar refined sugar and consuming instead plenty of whole grains.

However other aspects of MyPyramid are confusing.

For example, the layers that were present in the old nutrition pyramid don’t exist as we knew them before. Instead the new pyramid has vertical stripes instead of horizontal stripes, making it harder to visualize what quantities should be eaten.

Also, meat and beans are lumped together in a section entitled “proteins” which does not make clear the nutritional benefits of some proteins, such as fish, over others, such as red meat.

Finally, critics are skeptical of the three glasses of milk a day recommendation. For people on a 1500 calorie a day regimen, three glasses of milk every day is a sizeable percentage of their calorie intake.

With constant changes to the food and nutrition pyramid it can be hard to figure out what to do for the best.

But you know what’s good, right?

Plenty of whole grains, healthy oils, limit trans fats, include milk in your diet, but don’t overdo it, incorporate beans, pulses and nuts into your diet, drink a little wine if you are so inclined, and eat lean proteins like fish and chicken, but eat pork and red meat in moderation and skip refined sugar.

Also, check out the wide variety of nutritional articles on this website for more information.

Philip Kustner
Don't get too hung up on which nutrition pyramid you stick to.

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