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 Americans diets are too high in fat, especially saturated fat. 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
