Nutrition and Food Pyramids

Abstract

Food pyramids are tools one can use to guide or assess dietary intake. Pyramids allow a person with limited nutritional knowledge to make sound decisions about what foods to eat. Furthermore, a pyramid’s shape directs the consumer toward the appropriate amounts of foods to eat. That is, the larger base of the pyramid represents the types of foods one should consume more often while the smaller top of the pyramid represents foods one should consume less frequently. For example, the Harvard School of Public Health’s Healthy Eating Pyramid lists red meat, butter, white rice, white bread, white pasta, potatoes, soda and sweets at the top of its guide, recommending these foods be consumed only sparingly.