U.S. Government Replaces Food Pyramid With MyPlate

From Healthy Living:

You probably know that it’s best to eat a variety of healthy foods of every day. But it can be hard to figure out the correct amounts to consume unless you carry around a food scale and measuring cups. And many people were confused by the U.S. government’s earlier attempt to clarify the issue, the Food Pyramid, a triangle divided into sections representing food groups. That’s why the Department of Agriculture has replaced the pyramid with a symbol called MyPlate, which shows how the recommended amounts might look on a plate.

The MyPlate icon is a round plate divided into four sections, each of which represents a different type of food or nutrient – fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein. The size of each section shows the recommended proportion of each food, and a smaller circle next to the plate represents dairy products. The basic message of MyPlate is to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, and divide the other half between grains and protein, while also consuming milk or other dairy products.

When you go to the USDA’s MyPlate site at www.ChooseMyPlate.gov, you’ll see links related to each recommendation. For example, for each food group you can click on links that tell what’s in the group, what its health benefits are, and how much of it you need to eat. Here are some of the key recommendations of the MyPlate guidelines:

Choose whole or cut-up fruits. MyPlate guidelines recommend that you choose mainly whole or cut-up fruit (instead of juice) for the dietary fiber it provides. However, any 100 percent-fruit juice counts toward meeting your daily fruit requirement, and fruits can be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried.

Eat vegetables from each of five groups. You don’t have to eat all of these five vegetable groups every day: beans and peas, dark green vegetables, red and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables (including avocado, celery, mushrooms, onions, and zucchini). Just try to have some from each group every week, because vegetables differ in their nutrients.

Make at least half of your grains whole grains. The MyPlate guidelines define grains as “any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another cereal grain.” They also recommend whole grains instead of refined grains (which have had some nutrients removed). Look for the words “whole grain” or “whole wheat” on the label, the USDA advises. Foods that say “multi-grain,” “stone-ground,” “100 percent wheat” and “cracked wheat” are “usually not whole grain products,” the agency says.

Choose lean meat and poultry. All foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, nuts, seeds, and processed soy products fall into the MyPlate “protein foods group” along with beans and peas (which are also part of the vegetable group). To get the most benefits from this group, the USDA recommends eating a variety of foods from it, “including at least 8 ounces of cooked seafood per week.”

Switch to fat-free or low-fat milk. You can meet your dairy requirements with milk, cheese, yogurt, milk-based desserts, or a calcium-fortified soy beverage. If you drink milk, switch to fat-free or low-fat (1 percent) milk, the MyPlate guidelines suggest. The site also has tips for people who are lactose-intolerant.

If you’d like to receive a customized food plan designed for your needs, click on the “Interactive Tools” link on the home page of the MyPlate site and then answer a few basic questions about your age, gender, and activity level.