The Food Pyramid

Food Guide Pyramid

The Food Guide Pyramid represents the government’s recommendations for daily intake for an individual. The Pyramid conveys the concepts of variety, adequacy, balance, nutrient density and exercise. Each food group is represented by a color band and the size of the color band represents the relative number of servings that should come from each group. The color bands extend the entire length of the Pyramid to show that in each food group, some foods should be consumed more often and others should be eaten only occasionally.

Orange represents grains

• You need at least 3 ounces of whole grain a day.
• Whole grain includes items such as brown rice, oatmeal, and whole-wheat flour.
• These foods are healthy because they contain fiber. For a list of additional fiber-containing foods, click here.

Green represents vegetables

• It is recommended that you eat 5-9 servings of vegetables per day.
• It is important to vary the types of vegetables you eat to get different nutrients.

Red represents fruits

• Pick a variety of fruits to eat to get different nutrients out of them.
• It is important to drink 100% fruit juices.
• It is recommended that you eat 5-9 servings of fruit per day.

Yellow represents oils/fats

• You should consume fat from fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
• Vegetable oil contains unsaturated fat, which is healthier than saturated fat found in foods such as cream, butter, and red meat.
• The recommended daily allowance of oils/fats is six teaspoons.

Blue represents milk/dairy products

• You need at least 3 cups per day.
• Dairy products include milk, cheese, and yogurt.
• It is best to choose low-fat or fat-free milk products.

Purple represents meat and beans

• You need at least 5.5 ounces per day.
• Foods in this group include meat, poultry, eggs, dry beans, nuts, and fish.
• It is best to select lean cuts of meat.

Stairs represent physical activity

• You need at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day or most days of the week.
• Activities include walking briskly, jogging, bicycling, swimming, and lifting weights.
• Visit our exercise section to learn more...

Click here for information on the Food Guide Pyramid or to see your personalized Pyramid Plan.

If you would like to get an idea of how your diet stacks up in terms of good nutrition you can enter one day of your diet into the MyPyramid Tracker and get a full report on how your diet rates as compared to the various government nutrition guidelines.