Sunday, March 15, 2009

Are Treats like Fried Chicken Banned on the New Food Pyramid?

By KC Kudra

You might have seen pictures of the old food pyramid on posters in your doctor's surgery or in magazines but you might not have seen the new food pyramid yet.

On the older version of the food pyramid, there are several main food groups, stacked on top of each other. The biggest food group, which is on the bottom layer, is rice, bread, cereal, and pasta. This is what you need to eat the most of. Next up are vegetables and fruit. On top of that are dairy, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and beans and right at the top is fats, which you should eat the least of.

The new food pyramid has vertical rainbow colored stripes to show the different food groups. It also tells you how many ounces or cups of each food group you should consume each day, rather than how many servings. A lot of people are unclear how big a "serving" should be.

Does the Food Pyramid Work for Everyone?

The new food pyramid encourages a balanced diet, which is something that all healthcare professionals agree upon. Your body needs a combination of grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat or poultry to function properly. It is possible to eat healthily on a vegetarian diet or vegan diet but you will need to make substitutions, such as eating beans or tofu instead of meat or poultry.

Everything in Moderation

No foods are banned from the new food pyramid but there are some foods, which should be eaten in moderation. If fried chicken is your favorite dish, it will not do you any harm to eat it. You will probably not want to eat it every day but once in a while is fine. Chicken is healthy and lean and fried chicken recipes contain some oil but it is fine to consume some oil each day. In fact, the body needs fats as well as other nutrients.

You might like to have a fruit and grain rich breakfast and a vegetable rich lunch to balance out your indulgent fried chicken recipe in the evening or you might want to serve it with corn on the cob, beans or a green salad but there is no reason that you cannot enjoy your favorite foods and be healthy at the same time.

Banning all fried food or all sugary food only makes you miserable. Eating it in moderation is an enjoyable and perfectly healthy compromise unless your doctor has put you on a strict diet for medical reasons.

Eating a balanced diet does not mean a deep fried chicken in one hand and a huge plate of French fries in the other but it does mean eating some of every food and making sure you eat foods from each food group to nourish your body properly.

So, if you were unsure about what the new food pyramid means, you can rest assured that your favorite foods are definitely still on the menu!

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