Special Update: In 2005 the new Dietary Guidelines came out, including updates to the former Food Pyramid with an entirely new set of dietary recommendations. Best Liquid Vitamins is not entirely convinced yet that the new Food Pyramid guide is the right solution to help consumers make healthy food and dietary choices. Sign up to BLV Health Watch for further information and to keep informed when/if the new guidelines will be added to our site in future.

Understanding The Food Pyramid

When you see the number of servings required to meet the daily recommended servings for each section of the food pyramid in the graphic above, it may seem a daunting task to meet the daily requirements for good nutrition. Don't panic. It's not as difficult as you may think. First, you have to determine the right number of servings that best meets your daily nutrition needs. This may help clear it up for you...

The number of servings from each food group recommended by the Pyramid depends on your calorie needs. Children ages 2 to 6 years, many inactive women, and some older adults may need about 1,600 calories per day. Most children over 6, teen girls, active women, and many inactive men may need about 2,200 calories per day. Teen boys and active men may need about 2,800 calories per day.

Example Using The Food Pyramid

Do you know how much you are really eating? Here's a quick example comparing a spaghetti dinner to the Food Pyramid Chart:

Spaghetti Dinner:

Food	Your Portion	One Pyramind Serving	Pyramid Food Group	Number of Pyramind Servings You Ate
Spaghetti	2 Cups	1/2 Cup	Grains	2
Garlic Bread	2 Slices	1 Slice	Grains	2
Tomato Sauce	1 Cup	1/2 Cup	Vegetables	2
Meatballs	6 oz.	2 - 3 oz.	Meat and Beans	2 - 3

As you can see from the chart above, it really isn't as difficult as it may seem to meet the Food Pyramid recommended daily servings. Enjoy!

Sources/Resources

How Much are you Eating? (HG No. 267-1)
Dietary Guidelines For Americans
Center For Nutritional Policy And Promotion - United States Department of Agriculture
Home And Garden Bulletin No. 267-1 / March 2002

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