The Food Guide Pyramid
What is the Food Guide Pyramid?
The Pyramid is an outline of what to eat each day. It's not a rigid prescription, but a
general guide that lets you choose a healthful diet that's right for you. The Pyramid
calls for eating a variety of foods to get the nutrients you need and at the same time the
right amount of calories to maintain or improve your weight. The Pyramid also focuses on
fat because most American diets are too high in fat, especially saturated fat. The Pyramid
will help you keep your intake of total fat and saturated fat low. A diet low in fat will
reduce your chances of getting certain diseases and help you maintain a healthy weight.
Looking at the Pieces of the Pyramid:
The Food Guide Pyramid emphasizes foods from the five major food groups shown in the
three lower sections of the Pyramid. Each of these food groups provides some, but not all,
of the nutrients you need. Foods in one group can't replace those in another. No one food
group is more important than another - for good health, you need them all.
- The small tip of the Pyramid shows fats, oils, and sweets. These are foods such as salad
dressings and oils, cream, butter, margarine, sugars, soft drinks, candies, and sweet
desserts. These foods provide calories and little else nutritionally. Most people should
use them sparingly.
- On the next level of the Food Guide Pyramid are two groups of foods that come mostly
from animals - milk, yogurt & cheese group; and meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs
& nuts group. These foods are for protein, calcium, iron, and zinc. (Milk, yogurt and
cheese: 2-3 servings & Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts: 2-3 servings)
- The next level includes foods that come from plants - vegetable group and fruit group.
Most people need to eat more of these foods for the vitamins, minerals, and fiber they
supply. (Vegetables: 3-5 servings & Fruits: 2-4 servings)
- At the base of the Food Guide Pyramid are bread, cereal, rice & pasta group - all
foods from grains. You need the servings of these foods each day. (6-11 servings)
The Pyramid illustrates the research-based food guidance system developed by USDA and
supported by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It goes beyond the
"basic four food groups" to help you put the Dietary Guidelines into action.
This pyramid will also help you learn how to spot and control the sugars and salt in your
diet, and make lower sugar and salt choices. It also helps you to choose what and how much
to eat from each food group to get the nutrients you need and not too many calories, or
too much fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, sodium, or alcohol.
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