The Food Guide Pyramid was the model for healthy eating in the United States. Maybe you had to memorize its rainbow stripes in school.
But the USDA, the agency in charge of nutrition, has switched to a new symbol: a colorful plate — called MyPlate — with some of the same messages:
Eat a variety of foods.
Eat less of some foods and more of others.
The pyramid had six vertical stripes to represent the five food groups plus oils. The plate features four sections (vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein) plus a side order of dairy in blue.
The big message is that fruits and vegetables take up half the plate, with the vegetable portion being a little bigger than the fruit section.
And just like the pyramid where stripes were different widths, the plate has been divided so that the grain section is bigger than the protein section. Why? Because nutrition experts recommend you eat more vegetables than fruit and more grains than protein foods.
The divided plate also aims to discourage super-big portions, which can cause weight gain.
But the USDA, the agency in charge of nutrition, has switched to a new symbol: a colorful plate — called MyPlate — with some of the same messages:
Eat a variety of foods.
Eat less of some foods and more of others.
The pyramid had six vertical stripes to represent the five food groups plus oils. The plate features four sections (vegetables, fruits, grains, and protein) plus a side order of dairy in blue.
The big message is that fruits and vegetables take up half the plate, with the vegetable portion being a little bigger than the fruit section.
And just like the pyramid where stripes were different widths, the plate has been divided so that the grain section is bigger than the protein section. Why? Because nutrition experts recommend you eat more vegetables than fruit and more grains than protein foods.
The divided plate also aims to discourage super-big portions, which can cause weight gain.
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