The food pyramid
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Books and articles on nutrition often show the famous food pyramid, which depicts numerous foods in order of importance. Let's find out more about this schematic diagram.
The pyramid was created in America as a tool for communicating dietary guidelines effectively, based on scientific evidence. A pyramid shape was chosen to show, in a way everyone could easily understand, how to eat in order to follow a healthy, balanced diet. Essentially, the base of the pyramid shows the foods to be eaten regularly and in adequate amounts, while the top shows the foods to be eaten in moderation.
At the base we find cereals (pasta, bread, rice etc.), then moving up we find fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, meat, fish, eggs, dried pulses and finally fats, sugars and sweets.
This was the first food pyramid, created in 1992 and called the USDA Pyramid.
In 2003 a new food pyramid was published, again in America. It was more complex and divided into 7 tiers:
Vitamin supplements and moderation in drinking alcohol are also recommended*.
The most significant new features compared with the 1992 pyramid are the need for physical activity, the reduced consumption of refined carbohydrates and red meat, and the distinction between vegetable fats (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids) and animal fats (rich in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol).
*from: "Lineamenti di dietoterapia e nutrizione clinica".
Books and articles on nutrition often show the famous food pyramid, which depicts numerous foods in order of importance. Let's find out more about this schematic diagram.
The pyramid was created in America as a tool for communicating dietary guidelines effectively, based on scientific evidence. A pyramid shape was chosen to show, in a way everyone could easily understand, how to eat in order to follow a healthy, balanced diet. Essentially, the base of the pyramid shows the foods to be eaten regularly and in adequate amounts, while the top shows the foods to be eaten in moderation.
At the base we find cereals (pasta, bread, rice etc.), then moving up we find fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese, meat, fish, eggs, dried pulses and finally fats, sugars and sweets.
This was the first food pyramid, created in 1992 and called the USDA Pyramid.
In 2003 a new food pyramid was published, again in America. It was more complex and divided into 7 tiers:
- the base consists of physical activity;
- the second tier consists of wholegrain cereals and vegetable oils;
- the third tier contains fruit and vegetables;
- the fourth tier contains nuts and dried pulses;
- the fifth tier includes fish, eggs and white meat;
- the sixth tier contains milk and dairy products;
- the last tier contains red meat, sweets and refined (non-wholegrain) cereal products.
Vitamin supplements and moderation in drinking alcohol are also recommended*.
The most significant new features compared with the 1992 pyramid are the need for physical activity, the reduced consumption of refined carbohydrates and red meat, and the distinction between vegetable fats (rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids) and animal fats (rich in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol).
*from: "Lineamenti di dietoterapia e nutrizione clinica".
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