Inside the New Food Guide Pyramid

What is a "Healthy Diet"?
The Dietary Guidelines describe a healthy diet as one that

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Requirements for the New Pyramid: (see www.mypyramid.gov)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: simply means movement of the body that uses energy. Walking, gardening, briskly pushing a baby stroller, climbing the stairs, playing soccer, or dancing the night away are all good examples of being active. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous and add up to at least 30 minutes a day.

GRAINS: Any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or another cereal grain is a grain product. Bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas, and grits are examples of grain products.
Grains are divided into 2 subgroups, whole grains and refined grains.

VEGETABLES: Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a member of the vegetable group. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.

Vegetables are organized into 5 subgroups, based on their nutrient content. Some commonly eaten vegetables in each subgroup are: dark greens, orange vegetables, dry beans and peas, starchy vegetables, and other veggies.

FRUITS: Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the fruit group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed. Some examples of fruits are berries, melons, apples, bananas, and fruit juice.

MILK: All fluid milk products and many foods made from milk are considered part of this food group. Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are part of the group, while foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not. Most milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat.

MEAT AND BEANS: All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of this group. Dry beans and peas are part of this group as well as the vegetable group.
Most meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat. Fish, nuts, and seeds contain healthy oils, so choose these foods frequently instead of meat or poultry.

OILS: Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like the vegetable oils used in cooking. Oils come from many different plants and from fish. Some common oils are: canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, safflower oil, soybean oil and, sunflower oil.

J OVER J

Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences and on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Using the information on the front of this paper, define the following terms: Healthy Diet, Physical Activity, Grains, Vegetables, Fruit, Milk, Meat and Beans, and Oil.

2. If you had to guess…how many servings of each of the above food groups do you think you get in a day. Be honest and include minutes of physical activity in a day. (yes, you can include your Physical Education class)

(* All of the information on the front of this paper was taken from www.mypyramid.gov )