Food Pyramids for healthy eating habits

The food pyramid is a way to direct persons on the correct habits of healthy eating and about the necessary food groups and specific types of food that are to be consumed on a daily basis in order to maintain a balanced diet. The food pyramid makes a great nutritional guide because it provides you with nutrition facts and suggestions on the types of food to eat and also the recommended quantity. The group of food that are located at the top of the pyramid should appear less in what you consume daily, therefore it is safe to say that the ones at the bottom of the pyramid should take up more of your daily diet. The items at the bottom are whole wheat foods and other whole grains; these can range from cereals, breads, biscuits, pastas etc. Whole grains are a good source of fibre and they also supply minerals and vitamins because they go through less processing when the by-products such as whole wheat flour, are being made. Always ensure that you confirm whole wheat flour as an ingredient in these products because some manufacturers only use colouring to get the whole wheat look and use little to no whole wheat at all in the making of the product.

Fruits and vegetables are on the second rung going up and these are also in the wider part of the pyramid because they are a good source of nutrients that include vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium and also a good amount of fibre. In addition, fruits and vegetables are low in fat and sodium so they provide good dieting values. The daily servings that are suggested by the food pyramid are 3-5 servings for vegetables and 2-4 servings for fruits. Try not to substitute the fruits with so-called fruit juices, but if you must, ensure that the ingredients declare 100% fruit juice and ensure that the servings per container is taken into consideration so that you do not over consume because these bottled juices have added sugar. Stay away from sodas and fruit drinks as these contain high volumes of sugar and very little real juice if any at all. Of course you know that man cannot live by bread alone, so here is the meat, eggs fish and beans. These additions to the diet provide protein, zinc and iron and the food pyramid indicates 2-3 (3 ounce) servings of meat and fish for daily consumption. In addition, the way you prepare your food plays a vital role in your diet so try to avoid lots of frying and remember to remove the skin and excess fat from your meat before cooking it.

Dairy is the next item on our pyramid list as we make our way to the top; this is an essential addition to provide calcium and other vitamins. The serving sizes that are recommended by the food pyramid varies and is dependent on the group that you fall in, If you are pregnant or lactating or a young adult or teenager, it is recommended that you get at least 3 servings each day, while the average person should have about 2 servings for the day. When most people hear dairy they think milk, then they start to stray off into ice-cream, cheese, butter and other stuff that contains calories, sodium and sugar. It is not recommended that you consume too much of these by products because the additives are plenty and will affect the balance of your diet, try to have them in moderations or find alternatives such as yogurt and skim milk cheese. The items at the top of the pyramid are there because they should be consumed in lesser quantities than anything else in our diets, but the fact is most persons eat more of these things that anything else on a daily basis. Yes you’ve guessed it, this is the fat and sweet section, and this is where all the desserts and candies and syrups and butter and margarine are stored. I am sure they taste good, but these items contain a lot of added sugar and not much else.
A food pyramid and a BMI calculator is a perfect combination for a healthy body, the pyramid as you know will be your food guide and the BMI calculator will be your weight guide, what it does is to calculate whether or not you are over weight, underweight or if your weight is normal based on the input of your current weight and your height into the calculator.