Healthy Eating & The Food Pyramid

The food pyramid created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture can help you find healthy ways of eating. It provides food categories and explains how to achieve a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy and fat. The food pyramid contains no rigid rules and affords flexibility to accommodate your dietary prohibitions or limitations.

Government Food Pyramid

In 2005, the USDA released My Pyramid, an updated version of its Food Guide Pyramid. My Pyramid acknowledges that your food choices should vary depending on your overall health, age and any specific medical conditions that might affect your food choices, including diabetes and celiac disease. The My Pyramid website includes tools to help you create a diet that meets your health needs.

Food Groups

The USDA My Pyramid advocates a diet rich in grains and low in fat. General guidelines suggest that you eat six servings of grains daily, at least three of them from whole grain sources such as oatmeal and brown rice. Include three servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables in your daily diet and two to three servings of dairy, preferably from low-fat sources. Vegans and others who don't eat dairy can obtain calcium from fortified cereal, soy milk and fruit juice. You don't need that much protein -- about 5 oz. a day -- and should restrict your fat intake.

Harvard University Food Pyramid

The department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health offers an alternative to the government food pyramid. The Harvard food pyramid strongly advocates healthy choices. The grain category, for instance, does not include refined carbohydrates such as white bread. Other categories in the Harvard food pyramid include healthy fats and oils, vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds, beans and tofu, fish, poultry and eggs, dairy and red meat, processed meat and butter. The Harvard food pyramid also includes a non-food category -- exercise -- near the base of its pyramid.

Healthy Choices

Simple changes can make a big difference between healthy and unhealthy eating. Try mustard instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich, which shaves about 100 fat calories from your diet. Snack on air-popped popcorn instead of greasy chips. If chips play a role in a meal -- nachos, for instance -- choose a baked rather than fried version. Keep your vegetables varied so you'll get a wider range of nutrients.

Drug Interactions

Otherwise healthy foods may interfere with medications. Grapefruit, for instance, boasts vitamin C but can react dangerously with a number of drugs, including oral contraceptives. If you take medications to treat high blood pressure, depression, male impotence, anxiety or high cholesterol, check with your doctor before eating grapefruit. If you take medication for any of these conditions, ask your pharmacist if grapefruit affects absorption or effectiveness. Leafy greens and liver contain vitamin K and can interfere with some blood-thinning medications. High doses of fiber may interfere with the absorption of some heart medications. Vitamin supplements also can impact the effects of drugs.