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The Food Groups and the Food Pyramid

The Food Pyramid: The Food Pyramid is a visual image illustrating the percentages of each group of food that make up a healthy diet.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) created the Food Pyramid, which was updated to its current form in 1991. The most recent update represents a shift in thinking in American nutrition. Nutritionists used to recommend a diet high in protein. They now call for the average adult to consume less meat, while recommending greater consumption of vegetables, fruits, and grains.

The Food Pyramid, with its recommended servings, represents what the diet and nutrition experts consider to be the most solid, reliable, well-researched thinking to date. It provides a good model for healthy eating. The basic pyramid, developed by the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is only one model, however. This pyramid has been adapted for ethnic preferences and there are now pyramids for the Mediterranean diet, the Asian diet and the Latin American diet. Other diets, such as the Hawaiian diet, can also be placed on a food pyramid.

How the Food Pyramid is constructed: The food pyramid has four levels.

1. At its base, the foundation of a healthy diet, are bread, grains, and cereals. They should compose the largest percentage of what you consume.

2. Next come two food groups (vegetables and fruits) which, together, occupy the second tier of the pyramid.

3. On an even higher, smaller level you find the next two food groups: the milk and meat groups.

4. In the small triangle at the top of the pyramid sit fats and oils and sugars.

How to use the Food Pyramid: Follow these simple steps.

1. Determine your calorie requirement

2. Translate your calorie requirement into daily food group allowances

3. Use the food group allowances to help you plan your meals and snacks

4. Record what you eat and check it against your daily allowances for each group

5. Use the Food Diary to record the areas where you are typically over your daily allowances

6. Try to alter the diet to be closer to your target

How to fine-tune the Food Pyramid: There are some challenges to using the USDA Food Pyramid. The first is that you need to put some distinction in your food choices, according to your particular dietary goals. For instance, if you are concerned about your weight, you will want to make your choices in the meat group from among those with lower fat content. The food pyramid doesn’t distinguish between hot dogs and lean chicken breast, so these distinctions are up to you.

After you have gone through this exercise a few times, you may find there are some foods that do not fit your diet plan. For instance, pizza may not be the best choice if you are trying to cut down on carbohydrates and fat, because it takes up too much of your daily allowance of each. If you don’t want to consume milk products, you may want to substitute additional carbohydrates.

Variations on the pyramid: These variations on the USDA Food Pyramid are based on diets from regions with historically lower chronic disease rates. They may be worth considering if your family has a history of heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or diabetes.

The Mediterranean Pyramid

The Mediterranean diet begins with the same basis of lots of grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Major differences from the USDA pyramid include:

• Using olive oil as the primary fat
• Allowing for only moderate amounts of milk products
• Using fish and poultry, rather than red meat, as the main source of high protein food from animals
• Including wine with meals

The Asian Pyramid

Major differences from the USDA pyramid include:

• Featuring rice and noodles as part of the grain group
• Putting fish and shellfish and dairy in the same section of the pyramid
• Avoiding milk. Most Asians lack sufficient amounts of lactase, the enzyme required to digest lactose.

The Latin American Pyramid

The Latin diet features tortillas, beans, and rice in the grains section.

Determining your caloric requirements: The number of food servings a person needs depends upon his or her sex, age, activity level, and body type. Each individual can use these personal parameters to determine the amount of food he or she should consume in an average day. The USDA has set the following average calorie levels as desirable for the following groups.

• 1,600 calories a day for children, inactive women, and older adults.
• 2,200 calories a day for moderately active women, inactive men, and teenage girls.
• 2,800 calories a day for teenage boys, active women, and active men.
• 2,200 to 2,800 calories a day for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

These are ballpark figures for calculating each person’s requirements. After considering all factors, you might want to place yourself somewhere between these benchmarks.

Converting calories to food group servings: Once you know your daily caloric need, you can convert that to servings from the food pyramid by multiplying your calorie allowance by the following recommended percentages.

• 60% calories from carbohydrates
• 10% calories from protein
• 30% calories from fat (one-third or less from saturated fats)

Note: If you are adjusting your fat downward, increase your carbohydrates by the same percentage.

Serving comparisons by three calorie levels (USDA):

Many foods are mixed: In reality, most foods contain mixtures of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, so you need to be a bit more creative with your estimating. If you eat an apple, it’s obvious you have eaten one serving of fruit. But if you eat a taco salad, your calculation becomes more complex. Depending on how it’s made, it could provide two servings of the vegetable group, one bread group, one meat group, and a significant portion of your daily fat. Eventually, you may be able to eyeball a meal and tell right away what you are getting, but in the beginning it’s a good idea to measure and calculate the equivalent amounts from each of the food groups. If you are eating a packaged, mixed food, the calculations have already been made for you.

Here are some examples of how this works:

• Carbohydrates only: carrots, bananas, broccoli
• Carbohydrates and protein: grains, breads, dried beans
• Carbohydrates and fats: wheat germ, donut, pie
• Protein only: liquid protein
• Protein and fats: eggs, cheese, fish, meats of any kind
• Fats only: oils, margarine
• All three: milk, peanut butter, whole grains

Steps for the beginner: Follow these simple steps to determine where your calories are coming from.

1. Use either the food label from prepared foods or your recipe to determine the food groups and amounts contained in combination foods.

2. Figure out what portion you will consume.

3. Divide your portion (as a percent) into the total.

4. Record the amount from each food group.

5. Determine how this food fits into the food pyramid (number of servings it represents).

6. Record it in your food diary.

7. Stay flexible and strive for balance.

You can occasionally indulge in a small piece of dessert if you forgo other sources of sugar, fat, and refined flour that same day. This requires staying especially aware and honest with yourself about how much and how often you indulge. Trading off does not mean binging and fasting. That unhealthy pattern has no place in healthy eating. Trading off means making sure, over a period of several days, you achieve a balance that meets your nutritional requirements.

What counts as a serving? At first, figuring out what counts as a serving may seem a little tricky. Some servings are close to what people would typically consume at a meal; others are much smaller. For instance, a single serving of rice is only one-half cup whereas people are more likely to consume a cup. A hamburger bun is two to three servings (depending on size). This is not a problem as long as you factor this in before you plan your day’s servings. It is more important for people who are trying to keep a level blood sugar, which is achieved by distributing carbohydrates evenly throughout the day.

When calculating your servings of each food group, be sure to focus on the labels of packaged foods. They contain a great deal of valuable information. To learn more about food labels and how to read them, go to the section on Food Labels.

Food Groups and their typical servings: The USDA provides recommended servings for each of the food groups in the pyramid.

Bread Group
USDA recommends six to eleven servings from this group. In general, the group includes a wide variety of cereals, breads, rice and pasta. If you have a dietary goal of eating more whole foods, you will want to choose these foods in their “brown” or whole grain form as: brown rice, whole grain bread, pasta and whole grain cereals.

Typical bread servings are:

• One slice of bread (1 oz.)
• 1/2 bagel (small)
• One ounce of cereal flakes
• 1/2 cup grain, rice or pasta
• Five to six small crackers

Vegetable Group
USDA recommends three to five servings from this group. There is a wide selection of organic and conventional vegetables available in this country. Many are imported from other countries, as well. Check the labels to determine the origin.

Typical vegetable servings are:

• One cup raw leafy vegetables
• 1/2 cup cooked or raw non-leafy vegetables
• 1/4 cup vegetable juice

Fruit Group
USDA recommends three to five servings from this group. There is a wide selection of organic and conventional fruits grown in this country and imported from other countries. Check the labels to determine the origin.

Typical fruit servings are:

• One medium piece of fruit
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh, cooked or canned fruit
• 1 1/2 ounces dried fruit
• 3/4 cup fruit juice

Milk Group
USDA recommends two to three servings from this group. There is a wide selection of products in this group including: milk, yogurt, cheese, kefir, and cream cheese. These are healthful foods when eaten in moderation.

Typical milk servings are:

• One cup milk or yogurt
• 1/2 ounce of natural cheese
• Two ounces processed cheese

Meat Group
USDA recommends 5–7 ounces per day from this group. The group includes meat, poultry, fish, and dried beans. These are healthful, high-protein foods when eaten in the recommended amounts.

Typical meat servings are:

• three ounces meat
• three ounces of fish
• three ounces of poultry
• 1/3 cup nuts
• two tablespoons nut butter
• 1/2 cup cooked dried beans
• one egg

Fats, sweets, and alcoholic beverages
These should be eaten sparingly. Oil is necessary to a healthy diet, but small amounts used in salad dressings and food preparation fill that need. Fat and sugars should been kept at a minimum and saved for special treats. Consume alcohol in moderation.

The USDA recommends NOT MORE THAN:

• 53–96 grams of fat (1 Tbsp olive oil contains 14 grams)
• 6–18 teaspoons sugar in all foods

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The information presented in VitaminLore is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of U.S. registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications.

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