About good food pyramid

Learn about the good food pyramid and the essential foods we need to take in each day. This is especially important for children who need their vitamins and minerals to grow up strong and healthy. Prepare menus that make meal time fun and nutritious at the same time.

The Food Pyramid is a graphical guide and representation for people to better understand how to eat a healthy and balanced diet. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed the pyramid in the Spring of 2005 in order to convey the importance of eating healthy.

Understanding the Food Pyramid

Your diet should be based on the foods at the bottom of the pyramid, and consume less of what is at the top of the pyramid. When trying to eat healthy and follow a particular guideline, it is important that you educate yourself of about content of calories and what is nutritious in order to eat healthy.

What are calories?

The calories in your food comes from the consumption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. A gram of carbohydrates is equivalent to 4 calories, and a gram of protein is also equivalent to 4 calories. But a gram of fat is 9 calories. A male of an average height needs 2,900 calories a day, and a female requires 2,200 calories per day. Thus it is important that you balance your meals well, in order to stay healthy.

The Good Food Pyramidteaches you the importance of eating a well balanced meal and also how exercise is a necessity to live healthy. The Good Food Pyramidhas six panels, and accordingly at least 6 ounces of grains should be in your daily diet. Vegetables, grains and fruit are equally important and the dairy products should be low-fat or fat-free. Meats should be lean-cut and oil usage should be minimal, and consumption of saturated fat should be avoided. The Good Food Pyramidis more flexible than the previous pyramid, and following this guide depends on the individual concerned. His or her lifestyle and the amount of exercise should be taken into account when following this pyramid. The emphasis of physical activity is introduced in the new pyramid, thus showing the importance of exercising. At least 30 minutes of exercise per day is a must according to this guideline.

This food based dietary guidance has helped many to choose their daily food items that are adequate in keeping up with nutritional standards. It helps you to stay healthy, be more conscious of the diet and not over eat. The diet is recommended in quantities and it is best that you know how to choose the food items, as per the Good Food Pyramid.

One could have any amount of guidelines and dietary plans, but unless you make up your mind and are self-disciplined, it will not serve any purpose. The new pyramid is an ideal source of information as to how a person could choose the right types of food and the importance of exercise to lead a healthy life.