Pyramid Plan

What is healthy for your body?

According the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), an organization within the USDA, it depends. Are you a man or a woman? A child or a teenager? If you’re a woman, are you pregnant or nursing?

The answer to each of these questions helps you determine how much of each food group you need in your daily diet to help your body run at its optimal level. The different food groups are essential – not getting enough of one or too much of another can affect your long term health and well being.

The USDA has an interactive eating plan available online that you can customize to meet your particular needs at http://www.mypyramid.gov.

The food pyramid has 6 parts: Grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans, and oils.
Grains: Half of your daily intake of grains should be whole grains. A whole grain is one that contains the entire grain kernel, including the bran, germ and endosperm. Examples include:

Brown rice
Wild rice
Whole-wheat flour
Oatmeal
Whole cornmeal

Get your Veggies! Mother was right – veggies are good for you! Eat a rainbow of colors, especially dark green ones (spinach, collard greens, broccoli), orange ones (yams, carrots, acorn squash), and dried beans (these can also count as a meat, if you’re a vegetarian.) A cup of 100% vegetable juice counts towards your daily recommended servings.

Fruits: Try eating fresh fruits for dessert rather than something loaded with sugar; a bowl of fresh strawberries or pineapple, perhaps, or have an apple with your lunch. Dried fruits such as raisins or dried cranberries also count. But, take it easy on the fruit juices as they can be full of sugar.

Oils: Fats are an essential part of your diet, BUT not all fats are equal! Get most of your fats from vegetable oils, nuts or fish. Limit fat intake from butter, stick margarine, shortening and lard.

Milk: Choose low-fat sources of milk, such as reduced fat milk, cheeses and milk products. If you have trouble digesting milk, use lactose-free milk products or other calcium sources, such as soy milk.

Meats and Beans: Meats and beans are important sources of protein. Be careful to eat the right kinds of protein however – low fat meats such as poultry and fish are nutritious and low in fat and should be eaten more often than red meats. Experiment by substituting nuts and beans in your recipes and limiting the amount of red meat in your diet.

To experiment with the new food pyramid and find out more about the government’s dietary guidelines, go to http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx

Brown Rice is an excellent source of whole grains.

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