The New Food Pyramid

Depending on your age, you might remember when the dietary guidelines were simply the four food groups. More recently-since 1992-the food pyramid with its horizontal rows provided the basic nutritional guidelines as to not only the food groups but the suggested amount of servings of each per day. In 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) literally turned the food pyramid on its side, adding recommendations for physical activity among the dietary guidelines.

Every five years the USDA and HHS work collaboratively to develop dietary guidelines for Americans based on the most updated knowledge in the field of nutrition. Responding not only to requests from health care professionals but also to the independent panel of professionals gathered for the purpose of studying the dietary guidelines, the newest food pyramid was created.

At first glance, the new food pyramid seems little changed, other than the horizontal stripes being exchanged for vertical ones. Closer examination reveals that the 2005 food pyramid is not only personalized based on age, weight and health conditions, it is interactive, allowing each individual to better understand what recommendations are best for him/her.

To access the food pyramid, visit www.MyPyramid.gov. Once at the site, there are numerous ways that the information sought can be further accessed, including audio pod casts and video pod casts. There is a section exclusively for pregnant and nursing women; an interactive game for children 6-11 years of age; a menu planner; a mypyramid for preschoolers; and a mypyramid plan and tracker to aid the viewer in their own personal nutrition and health quest. The information at the MyPyramid.gov site is available in Spanish as well as English.

The "Related Links" section on the main page of MyPyramid.gov will take the viewer to a page crammed with useful links, including chronic disease-specific information, food label info, farmer's market info, and nutrition assistance programs. To understand more of the basics of the food pyramid itself, the link on the home page to Inside the Pyramid for both basic information, and if desired, for more detailed information.

Given that nutrition is undoubtedly the key component to good health over which each individual has the most control, a visit-or two, or three-to MyPyramid.gov seems a prudent choice.