They did this to try and offer consumers a better guide to healthy eating by not only listing the food groups but also offering guidance about how much of each food group is required to form a healthy, balanced diet. They even took the step to color-code the food guide pyramid to help children have a better understanding of nutrition.
The new food guide pyramid expands on the original one of four food groups and now suggests there should be six. The color rainbow is included on the food guide pyramid with the size of the color stripes showing how much of a particular food group should be consumed in a given day. Not so much the quantity of each group, but the amount in relation to the entire balanced meal plan.
As you can see, the colors of the food group include orange for grains, green for vegetables and red for fruits. Yellow, representing fats and oils, has been added to the new food guide pyramid and milk and dairy products are represented by blue with purple for meat, beans, nuts and fish.
Helping Kids Understand Need For Balance
The widths of the colors on the food guide pyramid are designed to offer a visual idea on how much of each food group should be included in a balanced nutritional diet.
For example, the color yellow is the thinnest stripe indicating fats and oils should represent the smallest amount of the daily diet. Purple is the next thinnest and shows that meat, beans and fish should be limited as well.
Additionally, the new food guide pyramid offers information about how much you need of each group for different reasons. Whether you want to lose weight, maintain your weight or just eat the right foods for better health, the food guide pyramid offers advice on how to do this.
While including regular exercise, to maintain your weight you're advised to eat as many calories as you burn and to lose weight you'll have to burn more calories than you consume.
Eating for health will vary depending on the health issue you're striving to overcome, but the overall guidance offered by the food guide pyramid will benefit just about everyone seeking to eat healthier and more nutritionally balanced meals.
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To Your Health,
Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners / Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com
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