Government Unveils Revised Food Pyramid

The new MyPyramid.gov Web site lets individuals key in their age, gender and physical activity level so that they can get a more personalized recommendation on their daily calorie level, based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Note: As of April 19, this site is experiencing heavy traffic and may be slow to load.

The federal government issued its latest dietary guidelines in February. More information on the guidelines can be found by following the link below:

• Orange represents grains. The USDA recommends eating 5-8 ounces of grain per day depending on your age and gender. Of that amount, at least 3 ounces should be whole grain breads, crackers, pasta, cereals or rice.
  
• Green represents vegetables. The USDA's dietary guidelines recommend 2½ cups of vegetables per day for people eating 2,000 calories a day, with higher or lower amounts depending on the calorie level. People are urged to select from all five vegetable subgroups (dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables) several times a week.
• Red represents fruits. The latest dietary guidelines call for people to eat two cups of fruit a day.
  
• Yellow represents oils. The USDA recommends getting most of your fat sources from fish, nuts and vegetable oils, and limiting solid fats like butter, stick margarine, lard and shortening.
  
• Blue represents milk. The latest USDA dietary guidelines encourage consuming three cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products every day.
  
• Purple represents beans and meats. The USDA says people should choose lean meats and poultry, varying protein choices with more fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.