The Nutrition Pyramid
Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Eating

The nutrition pyramid identifies the primary food groups and provides guidelines for a healthy balanced diet. Use these healthy eating guidelines to improve your eating habits and overall nutritional intake.

Grains are divided into two subgroups, whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel, while refined grains have been milled, which is a process that removes portions of the grain kernel.

Examples of whole grains include:

• whole-wheat flour
• bulgur (cracked wheat)
• oatmeal
• whole cornmeal
• brown or wild rice
• muesli

Refined grains have a finer texture and improved shelf life, but the refinement process also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are:

• white flour
• degermed cornmeal
• white bread (and buns and rolls)
• white rice
• pasta
• corn flakes cereal
• corn and flour tortillas

Most refined grains are enriched, which means certain B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid) and iron are added back after processing. Fiber is not added back to enriched grains. Check the ingredient list on refined grain products to make sure that the word “enriched” is included in the grain name. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains.

Vegetables Food Group
The vegetables food group from the nutrition pyramid consists of any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice. Vegetables may be raw or cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may be whole, cut-up, or mashed.

Vegetables are organized into five subgroups based on their nutrient content. Some commonly eaten vegetables in each subgroup are:

• Eat more dark green vegetables
• Eat more orange vegetables
• Eat more dry beans and peas

Fruits Food Group
The fruits food group from the nutrition pyramid consists of any fruit or 100% fruit juice. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed. Some commonly eaten fruits are:

• Eat a variety of fruit
• Choose fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruit
• Go easy on fruit juices

Oils "Food Group"
Oils are not really a food group in the nutrition pyramid but it is essential to include oils in your diet, preferably healthy oils. When we talk about “oils”, we are really talking about various sources of fat.

Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like the vegetable oils used in cooking. Oils come from many different plants and from fish. Some common oils are:

• canola oil
• corn oil
• cottonseed oil
• olive oil
• safflower oil
• soybean oil
• sunflower oil

Some oils are used mainly as flavorings, such as walnut oil and sesame oil. A number of foods are naturally high in oils, like:

• nuts
• olives
• some fish
• avocados

Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, some salad dressings, and soft margarine with no trans fats. Check the Nutrition Facts label to find margarines with 0 grams of trans fat. Federal regulations require that FDA- and USDA-regulated products put established food nutrition facts on their labels, including trans fats.

Most oils are high in monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, and low in saturated fats. Oils from plant sources (vegetable and nut oils) do not contain any cholesterol. In fact, no foods from plant sources contain cholesterol.

A few plant oils, however, including coconut oil and palm kernel oil, are high in saturated fats and, for nutritional purposes, should be considered to be solid fats.

Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature, like butter and shortening. Solid fats come from many animal foods and can be made from vegetable oils through a process called hydrogenation. Some common solid fats are:

• butter
• beef fat (tallow, suet)
• chicken fat
• pork fat (lard)
• stick margarine
• shortening

Some quick tips about oils:

• Get most of your fat sources from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils
• Limit solid fats like butter, stick margarine, shortening, and lard

It is important to understand the various types of fats so that you can make healthy food choices.

Dairy (or Milk) Food Group
The dairy food group from the nutrition pyramid consists of all fluid milk products and many foods made from milk. Foods made from milk that retain their calcium content are part of the group, while foods made from milk that have little to no calcium, such as cream cheese, cream, and butter, are not. Most milk group choices should be fat-free or low-fat.

Some commonly eaten choices in the milk, yogurt, and cheese group are:

• Go low-fat or fat-free by selecting fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese.
• If you don’t or can’t consume dairy products, choose lactose-free products or other calcium sources. These include hard cheeses and yogurt.
• Calcium-fortified foods and beverages such as soy beverages or orange juice may provide calcium, but may not provide the other nutrients found in milk and milk products.

Meats and Beans Food Group
All foods made from meat, poultry, fish, dry beans or peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds are considered part of the meats and beans food group from the nutrition pyramid. Dry beans and peas are part of this group as well as the vegetable group.

Most meat and poultry choices should be lean or low-fat. Fish, nuts, and seeds contain healthy oils, so choose these foods frequently instead of meat or poultry.

Some commonly eaten choices in the Meat and Beans group, with selection tips, are:

• Choose low-fat or lean meats and poultry
• Bake it, broil it, or grill it; don’t fry it!
• Vary your choices – with more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.
• Select fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, trout, and herring, more often.
• Liver and other organ meats are high in cholesterol. Egg yolks are also high in cholesterol, but egg whites are cholesterol-free.
• Processed meats such as ham, sausage, frankfurters, and luncheon or deli meats have added sodium, which you should try to limit.
• Sunflower seeds, almonds, and hazelnuts (filberts) are the richest sources of vitamin E in this food group. To help meet vitamin E recommendations, make these your nut and seed choices more often.

With the U.S. government-mandated food labels on all FDA- and USDA-regulated food products, making nutritionally sound food choices is pretty easy. Simply by taking a little extra time at the grocery store to read labels and use this nutrition data, you can make much more informed food choices and greatly improve your overall diet and nutrition.

For additional information about the Nutrition Pyramid, refer to the United States Department of Agriculture MyPyramid website, which goes into great detail about the nutrition pyramid and each of the various food groups.

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