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As we all know the health food pyramid had been designed to make your healthy food chooses a lot easier, and you need to know that the health pyramid was created by major experts at the Harvard school of health and editors.
They made it as simple as possible for everyone to use it to have healthy balanced meals and getting rid of the bad habits of eating and the wrong food chooses.
It is considered as a simple visual guide to the types and proportion of foods, which you should eat every day in order to get good health and even to lose your weight.
The pyramid of health:
Using the pyramid of health can grantee to everyone gets the right balanced amount of fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals besides so many other nutrients needed for your body to function in a perfect way.
Moreover, it can maintain a good healthy life and keep your diet always on track without visiting a doctor by only depending on the pyramid for health.
Monica Myklebust and Jenna Wunder from the University of Michigan Integrative Medicine Clinical Services explain, “The foods we choose to eat are essential to how we care for ourselves. In choosing the healing foods on this pyramid, each one of us contributes to our own health”.
What does the pyramid of health contain?
Healthy food pyramid contains different nutritious components each part of it also the experts divided how much of every serving the adult need to maintain the healthy life through using the healthy food pyramid in an efficient and right way.
You need also know that water has the foundational role to the pyramid, followed by fruits, vegetables, and grains, and among the other foods featuring on the pyramid are legumes, eggs, and dairy products.
The healthy food pyramid also consists of lean meats complement other foods, and fishes are high in omega-3 fatty acids, and some seasonings include herbs, onions, garlic, pepper, salt and others that add flavor while contributing healing benefits.
When we come to the top of the pyramid, you will find that it is your own part because it is left for individual choice.
You can easily try one specific healthy food pyramid method if you want to lose weight or stay in a good shape, all you need to do is drink at least 8oz of water per day, and you must try to activate Vitamin D by sunlight.
How the pyramid of health works?
First, you need to know that the new healthy pyramid is focused on the idea of the type of food more than the amount you are having, as an example, some of the carbohydrates fruits and vegetables “excepting the potatoes” are healthier than other types of carbohydrates.
You will also notice that the pyramid for health encourages the idea of using healthy oils from different healthy sources so you can get the amount of healthy fat from it without messing up your healthy eating diet.
Americans food researchers and experts confirmed that the healthy eating plate and the pyramid for health are complementing each other as the pyramid for health is concerned with the type of food you are getting or as the consumers see it as the grocery list.
The experts at the Harvard school of health and editors wanted the health pyramid to be easy for anyone to understand it, so they managed to collect the types of food that contains the same nutrients with each other in one shelve in the health pyramid, by that way:
The Guiding food pyramid
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Education booklet explains the food pyramid, showing the five food groups, as well as the Fat collection. These groups are in the pyramid according to the size of the quotas allocated to each base of the pyramid as follows:
Grain Group
Occupies the base of the pyramid, and recommends 6-11 servings of this group per day; it includes various grains and their products, such as bread, pasta and rice. This group supplies the body with the carbohydrates and energy needed to carry out its activities, in addition to fiber and minerals.
Vegetable Group
It is preferable 3-5 servings of vegetables per day. This group supplies the body with vitamins, as it supplies minerals, and is an important source of fiber. Vegetables have low fat content, and vegetables have been categorized into four types:
- Starchy vegetables: potatoes and corn.
- Legumes: beans, chickpeas.
- Leafy vegetables: spinach, broccoli.
- Vegetables of orange color: like carrots and sweet potatoes.
- Other types of vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc.
In its instructions, the pyramid advises to diversify and focus on eating green leafy vegetables and legumes more than once a week.
Fruit Group
2-4 servings of fruits or natural juices are recommended daily, they provide the body with a large amount of vitamins, and are low in fat and salts. It is preferable to consume fruits on juices to get the fibers found in them. It is also preferable not to add sugar to natural juices.
Group of milk and dairy products
It is preferable to 2-3 servings of milk and dairy products, such as cheeses and yoghurt. This group is an important source of protein and calcium. It is preferable to choose low fat cheese and dairy types.
Meat Group
specialists recommend that 2-3 servings of this group, which includes meat and eggs from animal sources, such as chicken, fish, beef and lamb. It is an important source of proteins, calcium, iron, and zinc. When eating meat, it is preferable to reduce fat as much as possible by removing the skin of the birds when eating their meat, and eating the meat of fish that contains few fats. they also recommend that not to eat over the egg yolk which contains a percentage of cholesterol.
Lipid
The small part of the pyramid’s head is devoted to fats, oils and sugar, and it is advisable to reduce it as much as possible as it supplies the body with calories without any other benefit. It includes animal and vegetable butter, oils, cream, and sweets of all kinds.
Food pyramid Developer
This pyramid was amended in 2005 and is called a pyramid to become more comprehensive and easier to use, with the new pyramid focusing on the following health concepts:
Diversification
The shape of the pyramid has changed and its food groups have become adjacent colored vertical pegs, signifying the importance of all food groups to the same degree. The different colors represented the five food groups and fats, and this confirmed that the body needs a variety of foods of all categories every day; All food groups contribute together to achieve a healthy diet, and the group of Oils has included as an irreplaceable group The time after research has proven the importance of the types of oils beneficial to health. It is advisable to have fat sources of fish and nuts, and to reduce vegetable and animal butter.
Equilibrium
The width of each stake in the food groups varies according to the needs of individuals from each of the food groups they represent, and the higher the supply, the greater the ration of that food group during the day.
Moderation
Each wedge starts from the base of the pyramid and ends up in the head; it is a sign that food in one group differs in quality and importance to health, and the higher the food content of fat and calories, the greater the position in the pyramid the narrower the stake; that is, the share that can be taken from it will be lower. This is a receipt of the concept of moderation in quantities according to the ingredients of the food and the way it is prepared, for example steamed broccoli will be at the base of the pyramid, topped for example broccoli prepared with olive oil, and then broccoli with cheese sauce and finally fried broccoli covered with rusks.
Physical Activity
Add to the pyramid a sketch of a person climbing the stairs pointing with his finger to the top of the pyramid, to be a symbol to encourage increased activity and exercise, where the recommendations for physical activity were added to include at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week, to reduce the risk of infection Diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. And 60 minutes of physical activity to maintain weight, about 90 minutes in case of wanting to lose excess weight.
Customization
Among the changes that have occurred is that the pyramid has become more dedicated to each person, so that he plans his diet in proportion to his age, gender and daily physical activity level. There are twelve levels of calories for males and females between the ages of 2-76 years and three levels of activity, which are small, moderate and active. The concepts of quotas have changed to make them easier to understand and apply to the general public, and they are the weight or size of the food in the cup rather than the number of servings per group.
Gradual improvement
The image of the person climbing the stairs indicates that the change for the better is to take gradual steps to achieve better health and balanced healthy food.
Healthy Dish
With the release of the new version of the Dietary Guidelines in 2011, the shape of the pyramid was abandoned and replaced by the form of a circular dish simpler and easier to understand individuals and different ages. His motto was: My Health class. The health class consists of four sections in orange, green, violet and red, in addition to the blue on the side. Each color is a collection of food groups, illustrating a model of various healthy meal ingredients.
One of the most important concepts that my health class has focused on is:
- Focus on diversification, quantity, and nutrition: eating an appropriate amount of calories based on age, sex, height, weight, level of physical activity, and choosing a variety of foods from all food groups to prepare a meal.
- Choosing foods and beverages that contain less saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars by using food labels, reading and minimizing the ingredients of these components, to reduce the chances of obesity, heart disease and hypertension, And diabetes.
- Make small changes towards a healthier diet style:
- Make half the contents of the dish of fruits and vegetables.
- Focus on eating fruit fruits complete.
- Diversification of the varieties of vegetables covered.
- Make half grain intake of whole grains.
- Choose a few dairy types or free fat.
- Diversification of sources of access to protein.
- Get the right amount of food and drink and don’t overdo it.
- Supporting healthy food for everyone: each of its roles is to support a healthy diet.
The new pyramid of health 2019 consists of
Whole grain foods
they are the best source of carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread, and brown rice.
Plant Oils
they can improve cholesterol levels and protect the heart from sudden deadly rhythm problems, you can have those benefits from olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, peanut, and fatty fish like salmon.
Vegetables and Fruit
you need to have them two to three times a day because they can decrease the chances of having a heart attack or stroke, you need to eat all kinds to get all benefits of fruits and vegetables.
Fish, Poultry, and Eggs
eat them twice a day because they are important sources of protein, and you need to know that fish can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Nuts and Legumes
they are an excellent source of protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, you need to eat legumes, such as black beans, navy beans, garbanzos, and other beans, besides some nuts, which have healthy fat and all of them are good for your heart.
Dairy or Calcium Supplement
you can have it twice a day in order to build and maintaining bone mass takes calcium, vitamin D.
Red Meat and Butter
they come at the top of the pyramid because they consist of a lot of saturated fat, and it is better to replace them with fish or chicken.
White Rice, White Bread, Potatoes, White Pasta, Soda, and Sweets
stay away from these foods as possible as you can because they can cause fast increases in blood sugar and make you gain so much weight.
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Note: it is necessary for children, teens, and adults to have at least 2 serves of fruit with other 5 serves of vegetables or legumes each day.
As you see, you need to be aware to have the right balanced meals and health because you cannot depend on one shelve from the pyramid of health only, as scientists designed every category or shelve from the pyramid for a different nutrition food and your body need them all.
No More Food supplements with the new health pyramid
You must know that daily multivitamin cannot take a place from healthy eating or make up for unhealthy eating, but you do not know that it can fill nutritional holes, which affect the most careful eaters.
That does not mean that many people especially the athletes, who take food supplements didn’t get enough of balanced food daily, but you need to know that if you are following the health pyramid correctly and eating a Variety of vegetables and fruits and nutritious you can give up taking the supplements bills.
However, this condition expecting all the pregnant women, as they need the folic acid supplements each day for the twelve first weeks of the pregnancy alongside following the new health pyramid.
Some people might be allergic to eggs or dairy products which are in the shelve in the healthy food pyramid but as we said the healthy food pyramid is a bit flexible as you can get your vitamin B12 from any reliable products instead.
In the end, we would like to hear from you and see all your comments on this important subject and do not forget to share it.
