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Feature Articles: Eating Well MyPyramid can be
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Word has it that the Food Guide Pyramid has been thrown out
and a whole new system has been set up. Improved, but not so
new. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently released
the 2005 food guidance symbol, MyPyramid. With MyPyramid, USDA
is striving to make being healthy easier and more
understandable. The new food guidance Web site,
MyPyramid.gov, is
interactive and gives ideas on how to use the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans, 2005. These can help you make MyPyramid your
pyramid.
Every five years, USDA reviews current research and puts
together a set of Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The
2005 guidelines indicate what is needed for Americans to become
or stay healthy. Some suggestions have been more refined in this
version than in the previous Food Guide Pyramid. These include:
- Make half your grain food choices whole grains.
- Recommended amounts are described in household measurements, like 2 1/2 cups of vegetables, 2 cups of fruit, 3 cups of milk (or the equivalent in dairy products), and 5 1/2 ounces of lean protein foods.
- Eat different kinds of vegetables, including dark green and orange ones, legumes, starchy vegetables and others.
- Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days.
- To prevent weight gain, 60 minutes daily activity may be needed, and 60 to 90 minutes are recommended to sustain weight loss.
- MyPyramid can be personalized to meet personal needs.
MyPyramid has been carefully designed to symbolize aspects of
a healthy eating plan that are important. For example, its
vertical segments, which symbolize food groups, narrow as they
go up to the top to show the need for moderation. Not all
foods are created equal. A glass of fat-free milk and a bowl of
ice cream are not the same nutritionally. Neither are a dish of
brown rice and a glazed doughnut. The wider base represents
those foods with less added sugar and solid fat. We are to
choose these foods more often. Those with more added sugar and
solid fat are to be eaten less often, as indicated by the narrow
size of each section toward the top.
The MyPyramid symbol has a rainbow of colors across its six
sections. Each section stands for a different food group. To get
the nutrients we need to be healthy, we need to eat a variety
of foods chosen from among these different groups. These
sections vary in width, indicating that we need to keep in mind
proportionality. Generally, the wider the group, the more
we need to eat from that group. For example, the oils group is
very narrow, much narrower than the vegetable group’s section.
This is because we need to eat more vegetables than oils. The
new look makes it easier to keep this in mind when choosing
foods.
The two aspects of the MyPyramid symbol and its Web site that
are very different than the previous Food Guide Pyramid are the
inclusion of physical activity and personalization
of recommendations. The need to be physically active is
represented by the figure climbing the stairs. Getting up,
moving and getting our hearts working helps balance the energy
consumed in the food we eat.
Figuring how much physical activity we get and how much food
we need to eat is part of the Web site’s effort to personalize
recommendations. Using the MyPyramid Plan, people can type in
their age, gender and physical activity level to get
personalized recommendations for the amount of food their bodies
need from each food group. Click on the tips links to learn
healthful ways to fit in these foods at meals or in snacks. See
pictures of the suggested amounts, such as 1 ounce of Swiss
cheese or 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans. There are also ideas for
making healthy choices when eating out, how to eat well on a
vegetarian plan, tips for encouraging children to eat well, and
food safety information. When you log in to MyPyramid Tracker,
you will find menu-planning ideas that fit your nutritional
needs.
MyPyramid’s subtitle, Steps to a Healthier You, is twofold in
meaning: it reminds us to be physically active and it also tells
us that to make healthy choices into habits it takes making
small steps that add up over time.
Sources:
USDA Web sites: MyPyramid.gov
and
http://healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines.
Last update: Wednesday, August 09, 2006
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