USDA Food Guide Pyramid

The USDA Food Guide Pyramid (see Appendix 2) recommends that no one food group is more important than another - for good health you need them all. Most people are well aware of the USDA recommendations, but individual choices obviously dictate the degree to which these recommendations are actually followed. For those individuals who attempt to maintain a balanced diet, they must also realize that they will consume a mixture of chemicals that is unique to each food group. Therefore, the chemical diversity of an individual s diet is dictated by the foods they consume. But before we discuss this chemical diversity in our diet, it is necessary to describe the basic types of chemicals to which we are all exposed. 

Gao, X., Wilde, P.E., Lichtenstein, A.H., and Tucker, K.L., The 2005 USDA Food Guide Pyramid is associated with more adequate nutrient intakes within energy constraints than the 1992 Pyramid, J. Nutr, 136,1341-1346, 2006. 

U.S. Dept, of Agriculture. 2003. Ethnic/Cultural and Special Food Guide Pyramids. http //www. nal.usda.gov/fhic/etext/000023.html. 

FIGURE 24.2 The Food Guide Pyramid (USDA). The recommended choices reflect a diet based primarily on carbohydrates. Smaller amounts of proteins and lipids are sufiBcient to meet the body s needs. 

The USDA MyPyramid Food Guidance System. MyPyramid is a personalized guide that people can use to assess their current diet and physical activity levels and to make changes in their food intake and physical activity patterns. To learn more about this pyramid, go to www.MyPyramid.gov. 

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