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Feature Articles: Eating Well The USDA
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On Tuesday, April 19, 2005 the USDA released its new food
guidance system based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans. Out with the old Food Guide Pyramid (FGP). In with
the new “MyPyramid: Steps to A Healthier You.”
For over a year, we nutrition educators waited impatiently
for the new food guidance system, which was being developed
behind closed doors at the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and
Promotion. What would the new food guide look like? Nobody
followed the old FGP because it was too general, too
unrealistic. Would the new approach truly help people put the
2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans into practice? Would this
really help solve the growing problems of obesity and poor
nutrition and fitness?
Go to the website
www.MyPyramid.gov to find out how to plan daily meals
and snacks for you and your family.
Personalized just for YOU
According to the USDA, the new MyPyramid “symbolizes a
personalized approach to healthy eating and physical activity.”
This is the key difference to this new Pyramid.
Food is still categorized into food groups. Each of the
triangles in the pyramid represents a food group. From left to
right … grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk, meat & beans.
But how much of each food group YOU should eat depends on your
age, gender and activity level … basically, how many calories
you need for a healthy weight. Twelve calorie levels are
included for males and females ages 2-76+, with activity levels
of sedentary, moderately active and active.
Here’s a little information describing the concepts behind
the new pyramid and to help you navigate the new MyPyramid. The
next few issues of H&G News will have more details on each of
the food groups.
Activity
The person climbing the steps on the MyPyramid represents YOU
being active. For the first time, USDA Food Guidance includes
recommendations for physical activity. This is in response to
the increase in couch potato syndrome – or sedentary lifestyles
– in America. Recommendations are to include at least 30 minutes
of exercise on most days of the week (above and beyond normal
daily activity unless your job includes lots of vigorous
physical activity) to lower your risks of diseases such as heart
disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. To manage
your weight and prevent unhealthy weight gain you need up to 60
minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days
of the week. If you need to lose weight or keep the weight off,
they recommend 90 minutes of modest exercise every day. Whew.
I’m tired just writing about it!
For many people, this will require increased motivation and a
major shift in schedules. But physical activity does make you
feel better, both physically and mentally, and usually helps you
look better. You don’t need to join a gym, but for some people,
that commitment works really well. Walking is some of the best
exercise. (Get good walking shoes.) Gardening is great exercise.
(So is cleaning house, but not nearly as much fun.) Swimming is
good for people with arthritis. Now if only we had a two hour
lunch……
Moderation
Notice that the food group triangles that make up the MyPyramid
are wider at the bottom and get narrower as they go up to the
tip of the pyramid. The wider base represents foods with little
or no solid fats or added sugar. It is wider to show that you
should choose these foods more often. The narrow top area
represents foods within each group that contain more added
sugars and solid fats. The more active you are, you can fit more
of these foods into your daily food choices.
Take vegetables, for example. At the base would be plain,
steamed broccoli. Moving up might be broccoli with lemon juice
and olive oil, then broccoli with cheese sauce, finally deep
fried, breaded broccoli with cheese sauce. For grains, how about
cooked plain oatmeal, then sweetened instant oatmeal with
raisins, oatmeal cookies, and at the top, oatmeal cookies with
chocolate chips and frosting! Get the picture?
Proportionality
This is represented by the different widths of the food group bands. The widest band is grains, then vegetables and milk. Fruit is wider than meat & beans. Oils are in the skinniest band. The widths suggest how much food a person should choose from each food group. These are just a general guide. How much from each food group YOU need depends, again, on your calorie needs which depend on your age, gender and activity level. Generally, for a 2000 calorie diet (sedentary boys ages 13-14, moderately active teenage girls, sedentary young women, moderately active adult women and sedentary elderly men) the daily recommendations are:
- Grains
6 ounce-equivalents (one ounce equivalent = 1 slice of bread, ½ cup cooked pasta or rice, 1 ounce cold cereal, ½ bagel) 3 of which should be whole grain.- Vegetables
2 ½ cups- Fruits
2 cups- Milk
3 cups (includes milk, yogurt, cheese…choose low fat or fat free dairy products)- Meat & Beans
5.5 ounce-equivalents (one ounce equivalent = 1 ounce of lean meat, poultry, or fish – 3 ounces is about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand; 1 egg; 1 Tablespoon peanut butter, ¼ cup cooked dry beans or ¼ cup nuts or seeds.)- Oils
6 teaspoons (includes salad dressings, mayonnaise, oil used in cooking, and foods naturally high in oil like oily fish, olives, avocados and nuts.)
Variety
The MyPyramid includes 6 bands (in color at the website)
representing the 5 food groups and oils. This is to show that
foods from all groups are needed each day for good health. Each
food group makes a distinct contribution to meeting your
nutritional needs. All are needed. Oils are included for the
first time because research shows that vegetable oils and oils
in some fish contain fatty acids that are important for health.
Gradual Improvement
Thankfully, the USDA recognizes that no one can make the changes
in their diet and activity patterns overnight in order to follow
their MyPyramid recommendations. One small step at a time…steps
to a healthier you…can be important to making great improvements
in your health.
Make it work for YOU
If you have access to the Internet, go to
www.MyPyramid.gov. Find
your calorie level by filling in your age, gender (male or
female) and activity level. You will then see how much of each
of the food groups are recommended for you to eat. Find meal
patterns, menu suggestions and work sheets you can print out.
Then take a look at what you are eating now. Write down what you
eat for a few days. Count the numbers of servings, or cups, or
ounces from each food group. What changes do you need to make?
Are you eating whole grains? Do you eat enough vegetables or
fruit? (Not counting French fries.) Are you active enough for a
healthy life? Make one positive change. Keep it up. Stay tuned
to H&G News for more information.
Last update: Wednesday, August 09, 2006
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