Food and the food pyramid

The United States Department of Agriculture has generated the MyPyramid food guidance system (http://www.mypyramid.gov).  This has been designed to help you to make the healthy food choice and reminds you to be active, every day! 

The pyramid is made up of wedges of different width and colour.  The colours represent that main food groups you eat.  These are grains, vegetables, fruits, fats and oils, milk and dairy products, andmeat, beans, fish, and nuts.  The different colours remind you that you need variety in your diet, try not to eat the same thing all the time.

The difference in width reminds us that there are some foods, like grains, that you should eat more often than others, like fats and oils.  The wedges start out wide at the bottom but get narrow as they get to the top.  This shows you that within a food group, some foods are better than others - for example, an apple lives in the wide part of the red fruit wedge but apple tart, which has apples but also lots of sugar, lives in the narrow part of the red fruit wedge, at the very top!  You can eat a lot more apples than slices of apple tart in a healthy diet!

You need to eat enough food to give your body fuel to do the things you want to do but also to allow your body to grow and repair itself when it needs to.  The more active you are, the more sport you play, the more calories you need.  Everybody is different, you may need a different amount of calories than your friend even though you both do the same kinds of activities.  Make sure you have the right balance between the calories you eat and the calories you use when you are active and that you make choices from the healthy foods in each wedge of the food pyramid!

So, how do you know which foods are the healthy choice?  The information below will help you to decide the best type of food to eat! 

Meat and beans

This group includes meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts so there is loads of choice!  All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group. Dry beans and peas are part of this group as well as the vegetable group.

Most meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat. Fish, nuts, and seeds contain healthy oils, so choose these foods frequently instead of meat or poultry.

	MEATS*			DRY BEANS AND PEAS				FISH*
		Lean cuts of: beef ham lamb pork veal Game meats: bison rabbit venison Lean ground meats: beef pork lamb Lean luncheon meats Organ meats: liver giblets			beans and peas: black beans black-eyed peas chickpeas (garbanzo beans) falafel kidney beans lentils lima beans (mature) navy beans pinto beans soy beans split peas tofu (bean curd made from soy beans) white beans bean burgers: garden burgers veggie burgers				Finfish such as: catfish cod flounder haddock halibut herring mackerel pollock porgy salmon sea bass snapper swordfish trout tuna Shellfish such as: clams crab crayfish lobster mussels octopus oysters scallops squid (calamari) shrimp Canned fish such as: anchovies clams tuna sardines

*Selection Tips

	EGGS*			NUTS & SEEDS				POULTRY*
		chicken eggs duck eggs			almonds cashews hazelnuts (filberts) mixed nuts peanuts peanut butter pecans pistachios pumpkin seeds sesame seeds sunflower seeds walnuts				chicken duck goose turkey ground chicken and turkey

*Selection Tips

• Choose lean or low-fat meat and poultry. If higher fat choices are made, such as regular ground beef (75 to 80% lean) or chicken with skin, the fat in the product counts as part of the discretionary calorie allowance.
• If solid fat is added in cooking, such as frying chicken in shortening or frying eggs in butter or stick margarine, this also counts as part of the discretionary calorie allowance.
• Select fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, and herring, more often.
• Liver and other organ meats are high in cholesterol. Egg yolks are also high in cholesterol, but egg whites are cholesterol-free.
• Processed meats such as ham, sausage, frankfurters, and luncheon or deli meats have added sodium. Check the ingredient and Nutrition Facts label to help limit sodium intake. Fresh chicken, turkey, and pork that have been enhanced with a salt-containing solution also have added sodium. Check the product label for statements such as “self-basting” or “contains up to __% of __”, which mean that a sodium-containing solution has been added to the product.
• Sunflower seeds, almonds, and hazelnuts are the richest sources of vitamin E in this food group. To help meet vitamin E recommendations, make these your nut and seed choices more often.

Milk

This group includes milk, yoghurt and chesse so there are lot of nice things to choose from!  All fluid milk products and many foods made from milk are considered part of this food group. Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are part of the group, while foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not. Most milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat.

	MILK*			CHEESE*
		All fluid milk: fat-free (skim) low fat (1%) reduced fat (2%) whole milk flavored milks: chocolate strawberry lactose reduced milks lactose free milks Milk-based desserts* Puddings made with milk ice milk frozen yogurt ice cream			Hard natural cheeses: cheddar mozzarella Swiss parmesan soft cheeses ricotta cottage cheese processed cheeses American Yogurt* All yogurt Fat-free low fat reduced fat whole milk yogurt

*Selection Tips

• Choose fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese. If you choose milk or yogurt that is not fat-free, or cheese that is not low-fat, the fat in the product counts as part of the discretionary calorie allowance.
• If sweetened milk products are chosen (flavored milk, yogurt, drinkable yogurt, desserts), the added sugars also count as part of the discretionary calorie allowance.
• For those who are lactose intolerant, lactose-free and lower-lactose products are available. These include hard cheeses and yogurt. Also, enzyme preparations can be added to milk to lower the lactose content. Calcium-fortified foods and beverages such as soy beverages or orange juice may provide calcium, but may not provide the other nutrients found in milk and milk products.

Oils

Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like the vegetable oils used in cooking. Oils come from many different plants and from fish. Some common oils are:

• canola oil
• corn oil
• cottonseed oil
• olive oil
• safflower oil
• soybean oil
• sunflower oil

Some oils are used mainly as flavorings, such as walnut oil and sesame oil. A number of foods are naturally high in oils, like:

• nuts
• olives
• some fish
• avocados

Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, certain salad dressings, and soft (tub or squeeze) margarine with no trans fats. Check the Nutrition Facts label to find margarines with 0 grams of trans fat.

Most oils are high in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, and low in saturated fats. Oils from plant sources (vegetable and nut oils) do not contain any cholesterol. In fact, no foods from plants sources contain cholesterol.

A few plant oils, however, including coconut oil and palm kernel oil, are high in saturated fats and for nutritional purposes should be considered to be solid fats.

Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature, like butter and shortening. Solid fats come from many animal foods and can be made from vegetable oils through a process called hydrogenation. Some common solid fats are:

• butter
• beef fat (tallow, suet)
• chicken fat
• pork fat (lard)
• stick margarine
• shortening

Fruit

Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed. Some commonly eaten fruits are:

Vegetable

Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the vegetable group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.

Vegetables are organized into 5 subgroups, based on their nutrient content. Some commonly eaten vegetables in each subgroup are:

Grains

Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of grain products.

Grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains.
Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel -- the bran, germ, and endosperm. Examples include:

• whole-wheat flour
• bulgur (cracked wheat)
• oatmeal
• whole cornmeal
• brown rice

Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are:

• white flour
• degermed cornmeal
• white bread
• white rice

Most refined grains are enriched. This means certain B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing. Fiber is not added back to enriched grains. Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word “enriched” is included in the grain name. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains.

Some commonly eaten grain products are:

	WHOLE GRAINS			REFINED GRAINS
		brown rice buckwheat bulgur (cracked wheat) oatmeal popcorn Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals: whole wheat cereal flakes muesli whole grain barley whole grain cornmeal whole rye whole wheat bread whole wheat crackers whole wheat pasta whole wheat sandwich buns and rolls whole wheat tortillas wild rice Less common whole grains: amaranth millet quinoa sorghum triticale			cornbread* corn tortillas* couscous* crackers* flour tortillas* grits noodles* Pasta* spaghetti macaroni pitas* pretzels Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals corn flakes white bread white sandwich buns and rolls white rice.

*Most of these products are made from refined grains. Some are made from whole grains. Check the ingredient list for the words “whole grain” or “whole wheat” to decide if they are made from a whole grain. Some foods are made from a mixture of whole and refined grains.

Some grain products contain significant amounts of bran. Bran provides fiber, which is important for health. However, products with added bran or bran alone (e.g., oat bran) are not necessarily whole grain products.

Exercise

Exercise, or physical activity simply means movement of the body that uses energy. Walking, gardening, briskly pushing a baby stroller, climbing the stairs, playing soccer, or dancing the night away are all good examples of being active. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous and add up to at least 30 minutes a day.

Moderate physical activities include:

• Walking briskly (about 3 ½ miles per hour)
• Hiking
• Gardening/yard work
• Dancing
• Golf (walking and carrying clubs)
• Bicycling (less than 10 miles per hour)
• Weight training (general light workout)

Vigorous physical activities include:

• Running/jogging (5 miles per hour)
• Bicycling (more than 10 miles per hour)
• Swimming (freestyle laps)
• Aerobics
• Walking very fast (4 ½ miles per hour)
• Heavy yard work, such as chopping wood
• Weight lifting (vigorous effort)
• Basketball (competitive)

Some physical activities are not intense enough to help you meet the recommendations. Although you are moving, these activities do not increase your heart rate, so you should not count these towards the 30 or more minutes a day that you should strive for. These include walking at a casual pace, such as while grocery shopping, and doing light household chores.

The food pyramid gives you all the information you need to make healthy choices and be as fit as you can be.  Use it every day to make sure you stay fit and healthy all through your life!