A food pyramid is a picture that shows how much of different kinds of foods you should eat each day. We should eat more of the foods at the bottom of the pyramid and less of the foods at the top of the pyramid. The Harvard School of Public Health has made a new food pyramid using the latest scientific research. (Click here to see a larger picture of the pyramid)
The bottom of the pyramid is exercise and weight control. This means that people need to plan what they eat. A plan helps people choose good foods and control their weight. It is also important to get enough exercise every day.
Starting from the bottom of the pyramid, here are the foods you should eat and how often you should eat them.
- Whole grain foods should be eaten at almost every meal. These foods include oatmeal, whole wheat bread and brown rice. These foods give you carbohydrates for energy. Because whole grain foods have a lot of fiber, they take longer for the body to burn. This keeps your blood sugar from rising too fast and keeps you from getting hungry longer.
- Plant oils should be eaten at most meals. Plant oils include olive, canola, soy corn, sunflower, peanut, and other vegetable oils. These oils contain unsaturated fats that do not have cholesterol in them. These healthy fats can help your heart and lower your cholesterol.
- Vegetables: You can eat as much of most vegetables as you want. (Note that corn, potatoes and starchy are not in this group.) Vegetables have many vitamins and minerals. They can help protect you from many cancers, make your blood pressure lower, and stop vision loss. Vegetables are almost all carbohydrate.
- Fruits: You should eat fruit two or three times each day. Fruits help your body in the same way as vegetables and are also almost all carbohydrate.
- Fish, poultry and eggs – zero to two times a day: Eating fish can reduce heart disease. Chicken and turkey provide a lot of protein and are low in saturated fat. Eggs have cholesterol but are a better choice for breakfast than a bagel or doughnut.
- Nuts and legumes can be eaten one to three times a day. They have a lot of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Many kinds of nuts such as almonds, walnuts, peanuts and pecans are good for your heart. Legumes include black beans, navy beans, and other dried beans.
- Dairy foods or Calcium Supplement – use one or two times a day. Dairy products such as milk and cheese have a lot of calcium and many vitamins. Dairy products also have a lot of saturated fat. Use non-fat or low fat dairy products. Some people who do not like milk can take a calcium supplement instead.
- Red meat and butter should not be eaten often. They have lots of saturated fat. It is more healthy to eat poultry or fish than red meat. It is better to use olive oil than butter.
- White Rice, White Bread, Potatoes, Pasta and Sweets contain carbohydrates that make your blood sugar go up quickly. When this happens, your body makes insulin to lower your blood sugar. Then you get hungry again very soon. This process can lead to weight gain and diabetes.
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- Alcohol in small amounts may be good for you. Be careful with alcohol since some people should not drink {a drink with alcohol in it’alcoholic drinks. A glass of wine or 1-1/2 ounces of hard alcohol each day is best. Some studies show that red wine can be helpful.
