Do you ever wonder what happened to the Food Guide Pyramid?

The Food Guide Pyramid was created more than ten years ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Pyramid illustrated what the USDA said were the elements of a healthy diet. The Pyramid was taught in schools, appeared in the media and brochures, on cereal boxes and food labels. It seemed like the absolute final word on what we should really eat.

The Food Guide Pyramid is now like a fairytale. It did not point the way toward healthy eating. We are told now the Food Guide Pyramid was based on shaky scientific evidence. It still has not changed over the years to reflect major advances in our understanding of the connection between diet and good health.

Recently, the USDA retired the old Food Guide Pyramid and replaced it with MyPyramid, a new symbol and “interactive food guidance system. This revision is basically the old Pyramid turned on its side.

Good news about the new MyPyramid:

• It tears apart and buries the flawed Pyramid.

Bad news about the MyPyramid:

• The new MyPyramid does not give us enough information to help us make informed choices about our diet and long-term health.

• It continues to recommend foods that are not essential to good health.

• The food quantities recommended may even be detrimental to our overall health.

So…..what do we eat to become and stay healthy?

According to a new dietary guideline released early in January of 2005:

• We are to continue to concentrate on controlling weight;

• Fats were once considered bad. The new guidelines emphasize low intake of Trans fats and to limit our saturated fats. There is not an artificially low cap on fat intake. The latest advice recommends getting between 20% and 35% of daily calories from fats. The new guidelines also recognize the potential health benefits of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats;

• Complex carbohydrates was a term used in the past that has little biological meaning;

• The new guidelines advise Americans to limit sugar intake and stress the benefits of whole grains;

• The guidelines suggest eating half of our grains as refined starch, although refined starches behave like sugar, add empty calories, have adverse metabolic effects, and increase the risks of diabetes and heart disease.

• The guidelines lump together red meat, poultry, fish, beans and soy products and tell us to judge these protein sources by their total fat content. This means to make choices that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free. This advice ignores the evidence that these foods have different types of fats. It also leaves out evidence that replacing red meat with a combination of fish, poultry, beans, and nuts offers numerous health benefits.

So…..if we follow this new dietary guideline we still may not be eating “right,” according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The Harvard School of Public Health nutrition experts created the “Healthy Eating Pyramid.” It is based on the best available scientific evidence about the links between diet and health.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid is based upon daily exercise and weight control. Evidence proves daily exercise and weight control influences your chances of staying healthy. They also stress what and how you eat and how your food affects you.

Some highlights of the Healthy Eating Pyramid are outlined below:

• Whole grain foods (at most meals).

• Plant oils: Good sources of unsaturated fats include olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, peanut, and other vegetable oils and fatty fish such as salmon.

• Vegetables (in abundance) and Fruits (2 to 3 times per day).

• Fish, poultry, and eggs (0 to 2 times per day). Eggs which have been a long time noted as being “bad for you” because they contain fairly high levels of cholesterol, aren’t as bad as once thought to be. An egg for breakfast is much healthier than a bagel made from refined flour.

• Nuts and Legumes (1 to 3 times) are excellent sources of protein and contain healthy fats.

• Dairy or Calcium Supplement (1 to 2 times) Dairy products have been American’s main source of calcium. Cheese has also been another popular choice for calcium needs. Try to stick with no-fat or low-fat products. If you don’t like dairy products, calcium supplements are the way to go.

• Red meat and butter (use sparingly): If you eat red meat every day, switch to fish or chicken several times a week to improve cholesterol levels. Switching from butter to olive oil will also improve cholesterol levels.

• White rice, white bread, potatoes, white pasta, soda, and sweets (use sparingly): This group of foods can cause fast and furious increases in blood sugar that can lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic disorders.

• Multiple vitamins: Taking a daily multivitamin, multimineral supplement offers a nutritional backup. They do not replace healthy eating or make up for unhealthy eating. A standard, store-brand, RDA-level is fine. Look for one that meets the requirements of the U.S. Pharmacopeia, an organization that sets standards for drugs and supplements.

• Alcohol (in moderation): Many studies suggest that having an alcoholic drink a day lowers the risk of heart disease. For men: 1 to 2 drinks a day. For women: One drink a day.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid certainly summarizes the information I personally have been reading recently as the best dietary information available to us. It is not something set into stone because nutrition researchers will continue to turn up new information in the years ahead. The Healthy Eating Pyramid will change to reflect the new evidence.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid is not the only up-to-date guide for eating healthy. It does take advantage of more extensive research and offers a broader guide that is not based on a specific culture, such as the Asian, Latin, Mediterranean and vegetarian pyramids.

To sum it all up the number one tip for eating for improving your health would be eat foods that have a lot of vitamins and minerals as well as foods that are not high in fat. Exercise moderately.

More Healthy Tips:

• Find the strong points and weak points in your current diet and improve in those areas where you are weak.

• Make small, slow changes.

• Keep track of your food intake by writing down what you eat and drink every day. Use this record to help you see where you need to improve.

• If you have medical problems talk it over with your doctor or a nutritionist before making any significant changes.

• Good nutrition does not come in a pill. Get your doctor’s recommendations on vitamins and mineral supplements. Your body will benefit the most from eating healthy foods.

• Eat a variety of foods, and learn to try new foods.

• Prepare your meat either by baking, grilling or broiling rather than frying. Take the skin off chicken before eating. Eat fish at least once a week.

• Cut back on extra fat like butter, margarine, sour cream and salad dressings.

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables with your meals and snacks.

• Drink no- or low-calorie beverages like water, unsweetened tea and diet soda.

• Exercise moderately daily.

Balanced nutrition and regular exercise are good for your health if your weight never changes. Don’t be discouraged because you don’t loose weight after months of regular exercise. The regular exercise offers you a multitude of benefits toward keeping you healthy.

Eating healthy foods will help you to boost your immune process, but what if it’s the foods themselves making you sick? Food borne illness can cause food poisoning and a variety of other more dangerous diseases, so they are a real threat to our bodies. Luckily, there’s a quantity of things you can do to prevent food borne illnesses. Following safety tips when handling, preparing, and storing food is  important.

After your food is cooked, you should continue to monitor temperature. basically put, keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Hot foods should be kept at temperatures above 140 degrees Fahrenheit, while cold foods should be kept at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The range between that’s where bacteria can grow. When letting food lovely for refrigeration, place in the refrigerator after no over one hours and when thawing meals, do so in a bowl or pan in the refrigerator,  than at room temperature.

First and foremost, you should be concerned with the temperature of your foods. When cooking meat, make sure to use a thermometer in order to make sure that you meat is reaching to proper temperatures inside. Some meats, like beef, can be served rare safely, but proper temperatures are crucial. This kills any bacteria that may be growing on the meat. In the case of burger and other loaf meats that have been ground and formed in to patties, you should not eat rare meals. The bacteria then easily are found inside the meat as well as on the outside, and you are at risk if you do not cook these meats for a long period of time to kill any bacteria.

Cross contamination is a huge culprit when you are concerned with preventing illness and your food. Cross contamination is basically the moving of bacteria from one dish to another. This happens when you use dirty cutting boards, don’t wish your dishes properly, and use the same utensil for all of your foods. If you use, for example, a knife to cut raw chicken and then use that same knife to cut your food after it’s been cooked, a quantity of the bacteria from the raw chicken has probably remained on the knife, which can make you  ill. Make sure that you are using a neat work space and neat tools whenever you cook.

Along with using a neat environment, you should make sure that you are washing you hands regularly. Every time you touch raw foods, you should use disinfecting hand soap and hot water to make sure that no bacteria remains on your hands. Making sure that your food is safe is one of the most important parts of healthy eating, so don’t overlook this step the next time you prepare a meal.

After reaching your target weight, it is easy to fall back into old habits. If you revert back to your old eating and exercise routine, eventually your weight will start creeping back up. A few adjustments can help you maintain the ideal weight that you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Most dieters are ready to put away the dreaded scale immediately after reaching their target, but weighing yourself regularly will allow you to monitor any fluctuations. Weigh yourself weekly and under the same circumstance to get the most accurate measurement. Also keep in mind that your weight can gravitate several pounds in either direction. If the scale says you have gained three pounds in a single week, most likely it is water weight, not three pounds of fat.

Make sure you increase your calorie intake gradually. If you had been restricting your calories to lose weight, your body has become accustomed to the reduced daily intake. Add 50 to 100 calories per week to the amount you had previously allowed yourself until you reach a balance between your intake and activity level.

Examine the habits that caused your weight to creep up unnoticed and how you replaced or addressed them. For example, if you replaced your afternoon chocolate binge with a healthy low calorie snack, continue the new tradition. If you have switched to low fat frozen yogurt as opposed to full fat ice cream, don’t revert back. These minor adjustments will keep you from returning to your original weight.

This is not to say you should always deprive yourself of the foods you once enjoyed. High calorie meals or snacks loaded with sugars should be treats instead of a daily part of your diet. Try to balance your intake. If you know that the weekend will bring some festivity revolved around food, restrict your intake slightly for the preceding days and try to squeeze in another work out. Also, do not gorge yourself; simply enjoy a moderate portion and continue with your healthy eating habits.

Even after the diet has ended, continue drinking water and incorporating protein into your meals. Water allows your body to function properly and acts as an internal cleanser. A 2004 article in the International Journal Obesity remarked how even a slight increase of protein when trying to maintain healthy weight resulted in a 50% decreased chance of weight gain.

Exercise was most likely a vital component of your weight loss plan. Continuing to exercise will keep your metabolism up and your weight down. Instead of the cardio activities you engaged in to lose the weight, perform strength exercises to build muscle. Muscle burns calories continuously whereas fat burns nothing. Doing more repetitions with lighter weights will develop lean muscles that will enhance the appeal of your slimmer weight.

If you fear that you may immediately revert back to the old habits that caused your weight gain, continue with the support you received during your diet. It is easier to maintain your weight when you surround yourself with others who are in your same position.

These guidelines will allow you to enjoy your weight loss success and not have to suffer through the pain of dieting again.

Given the way food is presented to us today in the media, in the stores, and driving down the street, it is incredibly easy to fall into nutritional patterns that can only be described as unhealthy; and, that’s if you’re feeling generous. Let’s face it, the manufacturers don’t add all the salt and fat just to make us need to spend money on gym memberships; they do it because it makes the food taste good. This means that, once started, it can seem impossible to develop healthy eating habits, but that isn’t true.

Not that switching from a daily diet of double cheeseburgers is necessarily easy, but it can be done. Especially with the right products and support.

Research shows that it only takes three weeks to establish a habit. If that seems like a lot of time to try and be healthy without giving in to your junk food cravings, pretend that it’s a term paper or a report you have due in three weeks. Think about how fast the time passes when you have only three weeks. It goes by before you realize it and leaves you scrambling to do all your research and writing in one night.

It’s even easier to develop healthy eating habits if you have solid access to convenient and tasty substitutes for the high fat, salt and calorie foods you’ve been dependent upon. Not to mention that once your system has gotten over the shock of taking in foods and snacks that are actually good for you, you will start feeling better, which will make maintaining the new habit that much easier.

Nor do healthy eating habits mean that you have to give up the ease offered by fast food. You can find products online that have everything you need to change your lifestyle, and have them shipped to your home; so, you can save even more time, especially considering how many hours you’ve whiled away behind 16 cars at the drive-thru.

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The Japanese has been known to be among the healthiest people in the planet. They are known to be able to live long and well; so then, one finds themselves asking: “what is their secret?” The truth behind the statistical fact is simple; healthy eating without having to miss out on great flavor.

There are a number of different Healthy Eating Recipes one can find in various books, websites and even from friends and family. However, for those who wish to learn and experience the same benefits and venture to the land of among the freshest palates, one can always opt to go for Japanese food. Some may be a bit skeptical about the thought of preparing foreign meals inside their homes for a number of reasons; one may consider the fact that they are new to the idea of foreign cooking or for that matter cooking. One need not fear trying something new, especially if it provides a promise of a healthy body as well as a great palate experience. One should also not fear the thought of having to try and prepare foreign meals or at the mere thought of stepping in to the kitchen and actually doing something productive in it.

While one can be able to find a Healthy Eating Recipe for any dish they have in mind, they can always try something simple first. They can begin with a simple appetizer or a simple salad such as a kani salad. This recipe does not involve much cooking skill; anyone responsible enough to be able to handle a knife carefully can be able to make this dish. All one needs is a cucumber, a carrot, crab sticks (which are easily available), a sweet ripe mango, some Japanese mayo and a bit of sesame oil. The instructions are fairly easy to follow; even a child can be successful in this.