By Alison Crane
Back in the 90s, we were taught to use the Food Guide Pyramid when planning meals or deciding what to eat. The food groups were arranged in the pyramid shape according to which ones you needed more or less servings. Using a total diet, the guide and its 2005 updated version visually reminded people to try to make healthy food choices.
In 2011, the USDA introduced MyPlate. It was a fresh way of looking at the five food groups by using a familiar image, a place setting for a meal. Where the pyramid focused on the over all, MyPlate took food choices down to each meal. Dividing a plate into portions created a useful illustration of how each food group should be proportioned on your plate for each meal. The idea is “before you eat, think about what you goes on your plate, in your cup, or in your bowl.”
The recommendations for MyPlate come from years of accumulated research on nutrition. Fad diets may take off pounds quickly, but usually once research has a chance to catch up with them, they are proven to not be effective in the long run and often they are shown to be detrimental.
Because diet is one of our most effective tools we have for disease prevention, making good food choices can have a huge impact on our lives. Often times we know what we need to do, but we just don’t know how to get started or maybe we need a little help coming up with a do-able plan. Why not Start Simple with MyPlate?
Visit www.myplate.gov and get tips and ideas, plus a personalized plan to meet your food group targets. You can also contact the Garland County Extension Service for more information on nutrition and available classes. Visit www.uaex.edu/counties/garland/ or call 501-623-6841. Like us on Facebook @GarlandFCS or @garlandEGF.
Alison Crane is a Family and Consumer Science Agent with the Garland County Extension Service. The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
