The Food Pyramid, with its recommended servings, represents what the diet and nutrition experts consider to be the most solid, reliable, well-researched thinking to date. It provides a good model for healthy eating.

The basic pyramid, developed by the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is only one model. However, this pyramid has been adapted for ethnic preferences and there are now pyramids for the Mediterranean diet, the Asian diet and the Latin American diet. Other diets, such as the Hawaiian diet, can also be placed on a food pyramid.
How the Food Pyramid is constructed:

The food pyramid has four levels.

1. At its base, the foundation of a healthy diet, are bread, grains, and cereals. They should compose the largest percentage of what you consume.

2. Next come two food groups (vegetables and fruits) which, together, occupy the second tier of the pyramid.

3. On an even higher, smaller level you find the next two food groups: the milk and meat groups.

4. In the small triangle at the top of the pyramid sit fats and oils and sugars.
How to use the Food Pyramid:

Follow these simple steps.

1. Determine your calorie requirement

2. Translate your calorie requirement into daily food group allowances

3. Use the food group allowances to help you plan your meals and snacks

4. Record what you eat and check it against your daily allowances for each group

5. Use the Food Diary to record the areas where you are typically over your daily allowances

6. Try to alter the diet to be closer to your target
Here are a few simple practices to help get or keep you on track:

1. Choose a variety of foods from each major food group. This ensures that you get all of the calories, protein, vitamins, minerals and fiber you need. Choosing a wide range of foods also helps make your meals and snacks more interesting.
2. Adapt the plan to your specific tastes and preferences. For example, a serving of grains doesn’t only mean a slice of wheat bread. It can be wild rice, whole-wheat pasta, grits, bulgur, cornmeal muffins or even popcorn.
3. Combine foods from each major group however you like. For example, you might make a meal of tortillas (grain group) and beans (meat and beans group). Or you could top your fish with fruit salsa or serve steamed vegetables over pasta. The possibilities are endless.
4. Select your meals and snacks wisely. Make the most of what you eat by choosing nutrient-rich foods within each group. And if you need to avoid foods from one or more food groups — for example, if you don’t consume dairy products because of lactose intolerance — choose other foods that are good sources of the nutrients found in those foods.

How to fine-tune the Food Pyramid:

There are some challenges to using the USDA Food Pyramid. The first is that you need to put some distinction in your food choices, according to your particular dietary goals. For instance, if you are concerned about your weight, you will want to make your choices in the meat group from among those with lower fat content. The food pyramid doesn?t distinguish between hot dogs and lean chicken breast, so these distinctions are up to you.

After you have gone through this exercise a few times, you may find there are some foods that do not fit your diet plan. For instance, pizza may not be the best choice if you are trying to cut down on carbohydrates and fat, because it takes up too much of your daily allowance of each. If you don?t want to consume milk products, you may want to substitute additional carbohydrates.

Food pyramid differences:
Although food pyramids reflect the same general principles of healthy eating, they demonstrate different food choices. These differences reflect dietary preferences, food availability and cultural eating patterns. For example, the Latin American Diet Pyramid might include tortillas and cornmeal within the grains food group, whereas the Asian Diet Pyramid might emphasize noodles and rice.

Other differences include:

-Food groups. The food groups among food pyramids may vary somewhat. For example, some might group plant-based proteins — soybeans, beans and nuts — separately from animal proteins found in meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products. This is because animal proteins are often higher in fat and cholesterol, and some diets limit or avoid animal proteins.

-Serving recommendations. How food pyramids address servings also varies. The Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid, for example, recommends a daily number of servings from each food group. And it specifically defines serving sizes; for example, a serving of cooked brown rice is 1/3 cup and a serving of milk is 1 cup. But other plans offer more general guidelines, such as eating particular foods at every meal, or on a weekly or monthly basis. For example, the Latin American Diet Pyramid recommends that you eat whole grains, vegetables and fruits at every meal but eat red meat, sweets and eggs once a week or less.

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There are some foods that you must avoid to eat because they make you fat. In this article I give you a list of high fat foods. Perhaps you don’t know it but fat and fat is not the same.

Goods fats vs. bad fats. You need to eat fats they are required for your health. Dr Udo Erasmus has said it already there are fats that heal and fats that kill. The problem is that most people are not aware of this and they choose for 100% fat free foods. A word of caution here the food can be 100% free but at the same time it can contain a lot of sugar.

Bad fats are:
- Trans fats.
- Saturated fats

Good fats are:

- Monounsaturated fats.
- Polyunsaturated fats.

In this article we concentrate us on a list of foods that contain bad fats.

High fat foods that are bad for you. Saturated fats. Studies have shown that diets high in saturated fats increase the risk of hart disease. They also increase the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood. Products that are high in saturated fats are.

- Butter
- Ice cream (contains milkfat)
- Cheese
- Chicken fat
- Meat fat
- Palm oil
- Coconut oil - Beef
- Lamb
- Pork
- Veal
A lot of animal products contain saturated fats and in some cases foods from plants.

Trans fats. Just like saturated fats there is a relationship between trans fats and bad cholesterol level. Products that contain trans fats are.
- Some margarines
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Snack foods
- Shortening
- Doughnuts
- Cake
- Frozen foods
- Potato chips
- Candy

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It’s official, a low-carb diet is better at burning fat than just cutting calories.

American scientists who were working to find out how diet affects the operation of the liver put 14 overweight people on either a low carbohydrate or low calorie diet.

They found those eating fewer carbs lost almost double the weight over two weeks, and several changes in liver function were identified as part of the reason why.

“Energy production is expensive for the liver,” says Dr Jeffrey Browning, assistant professor at the UT Southwestern Medical Centre, in Dallas, Texas.

“It appears that for the people on a low-carbohydrate diet, in order to meet that expense, their livers have to burn excess fat.”

The average weight loss for the low-calorie dieters was about 2.2kg, while the low-carb dieters lost about 4.3kg on average.

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A scientist has revealed how people could extend their lives by as much as 30 years in his extraordinary new book, The Anti-Ageing Protocol - a formula that is set to radically change our views - and experiences - of old age.

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Do you know which dangerous food ingredients to watch out for in your groceries? These are the “deadly ingredients,” as I call them, and they can directly promote heart disease, migraines, obesity, outrageous food cravings, osteoporosis, diabetes and even birth defects.
The top three most dangerous ingredients I’ve found in my research are:

1) Sodium nitrite — causes cancer, found in processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage. Used to make meats appear red (a color fixer chemical).

2) Hydrogenated oils — causes heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, general deterioration of cellular health, and much more. Found in cookies, crackers, margarine and many “manufactured” foods. Used to make oils stay in the food, extending shelf life. Sometimes also called “plastic fat.”

3) Excitotoxins — aspartame, monosodium glutamate and others (see below). These neurotoxic chemical additives directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell death, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock. They’re found in diet soda, canned soup, salad dressing, breakfast sausage and even many manufactured vegetarian foods. They’re used to add flavor to over-processed, boring foods that have had the life cooked out of them.

Grocery Warning exposes the truth that food companies will never admit to and the mainstream media will never print (because they receive advertising funds from food companies, of course!).

It reveals, in shocking detail, exactly which ingredients compromise your health (and how they do it). Based on thousands of hours of research, and quotations from the top doctors, authors and nutritionists, Grocery Warning tells you the truth about foods and groceries that will empower you with life-changing information.
Did you know, for example, that:
Feeding children hot dogs increases their risk of brain cancer by 300%?
Strawberry yogurt, fruit punch and other red-looking grocery products are often colored with dead, ground-up cochineal beetles? The ingredient is called “carmine,” and it’s made from insects. It’s listed right on the label of many of your favorite foods.
Food companies now “hide” MSG in safe-sounding ingredients like yeast extract or torula yeast?
Many Florida oranges are actually dipped in an artificial orange dye in order to make them more visually appealing? It’s the same dye that’s been banned for use in foods because of cancer risk.
Girl Scout cookies are still made with hydrogenated oils that contain trans fatty acids?
Many so-called “healthy” or vegetarian foods also contain the very same offending ingredients as conventional groceries?
Eating just one serving of processed meats each day increases your risk of pancreatic cancer by 67%?
One artificial color additive causes behavioral disorders in children? And that 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD can be outright cured of the condition in two weeks by avoiding certain ingredients?
The #1 ingredient in Slim Fast meal replacement shake (powder form) is sugar?
Some guacamole dips don’t even contain avocado? Instead, they’re made with hydrogenated soybean oil and artificial colors.

The truth about metabolic disruptors:

Nearly all modern diseases are caused by what I call “metabolic disruptors.” These are common ingredients, such as white flour and sugar, that prevent your body from healing. Unfortunately, metabolic disruptors are used in almost all commercially prepared foods, which means most products on your grocer’s shelves contribute to poor health. But if you know what to look for, you can fill your cart with foods that will help you live a longer more vibrant life.

Here’s what else you’ll find in Grocery Warning:
Which common ingredient has been shown to ravage the cardiovascular system and promote heart disease while destroying brain cells.
Why some popular beverages have been linked to blindness and seizures, dementia, Alzheimer’s and behavioral disorders.
How a single food ingredient is killing more than 30,000 Americans each year and yet remains perfectly legal due to food industry politics and influence on federal regulators.
How food manufacturers alter natural fats and convert them into disease-promoting ingredients that ravage your health and make it virtually impossible to lose weight, no matter what you eat!
The one natural, alternative sweetener that has no calories, no blood sugar effects, no chemical toxicity, and tastes great!
What “homogenized” means on milk products and the shocking truth of how this artificial alteration of dairy fats poses a very real threat to your health.
How to reverse osteoporosis and other bone disorders through dietary and lifestyle changes that create high-density bones throughout your body.
The truth behind the margarine scam and how the food industry convinced an entire nation to eat disease-promoting margarine for decades, based on shoddy scientific evidence and political influence.
The one natural oil that’s lacking from the diets of virtually all Americans, but can significantly improve brain function.
Why at least one prominent doctor is accusing the FDA of committing crimes against humanity for not protecting the public from the immediate health dangers posed by three different ingredients found in virtually every grocery store.

Back to the “hidden” ingredients

So how do food companies manage to hide excitotoxins and taste additives to their foods? It’s easy: They just keep changing the words to confuse consumers. Once customers learned to avoid MSG / monosodium glutamate, the food companies started using yeast extract.

Other hidden sources of MSG include:

• Autolyzed vegetable protein
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• Calcium caseinate
• Sodium caseinate
• Textured protein

The ingredients “stacking” trick
Food companies also use the ingredients stacking trick to intentionally leave you with the wrong impression about what’s really in their food products.

For example, one company makes a nutrition bar that’s absolutely loaded with sugar, but they way they’ve arranged the ingredients prevents sugar from appearing as the #1 ingredient. Instead, the first ingredient is rice. But looking down the label, you’ll find all the following forms of sugar, all in the same nutrition bar:

• Sugar
• Sucrose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Corn syrup solids
• Dextrose

Add all these up, and the #1 component in the bar is, indeed, sugar (or sugary substances). But the manufacturer has used ingredients stacking to make you think the top ingredient is actually rice.
It’s a clever, dishonest technique used by food companies to lie with food labels.

Remember, the longer the ingredients label, the less healthy the food. Read those ingredients lists before buying foods, and if you discover chemical names that you can’t pronounce, don’t buy the food!

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