Nutrition Tools

The Food Pyramid, developed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), is an excellent tool to help you make healthy food choices. The food pyramid can help you choose from a variety of foods so you get the nutrients you need, and the suggested serving sizes can help you control the amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar or sodium in your diet.
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The Food Guide Pyramid is one way for people to understand how to eat healthy. A rainbow of colored, vertical stripes represents the five food groups plus fats and oils.
Here's what the colors stand for:
orange - grains
green - vegetables
red - fruits
yellow - fats and oils
blue - milk and dairy products
purple - meat, beans, fish, and nuts
In general terms, the food guide pyramid recommends the following intake of different food groups each day, although exact amounts of calorie intake depends on sex, age, and lifestyle.
3-5 servings a day of vegetables, especially dark green vegetables and orange vegetables.
2-4 servings of fruits a day, especially fresh fruits and frozen fruits.
2-3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, or nuts a day, especially dry bean and peas, eggs, and nut and seeds.
2-3 servings of milk, cheese, and yogurt a day, especially milk.
Occasional use of fats, oils, and sweets, especially oils.
6-11 servings of grains a day, especially whole grains