When it comes to creating and maintaining healthy, well-balanced eating habits, Food Pyramid (piramid makanan) plays a critical role. Eating a “balanced” diet means getting the proper amount of each food category. The Food Pyramid provides a visual reference for what to eat and in what quantities. They assist you in including a range of nutritious items in your diet daily. A well-designed food pyramid, complete with vivid, attractive photos of real foods, provides examples of what to consume over time and the balanced proportions of each food category to the other food groups. There is no single food that can supply us with all of the nutrients we need. To stay healthy, we require a variety of foods in various proportions. It is critical for every one of us to eat healthily. A good, balanced diet can lower our risk of heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and some malignancies in the long run. The healthy eating pyramid is organised into five levels of varying sizes, each reflecting one of the five food groups, starting at the bottom and working its way up:
- Starchy foods
- Fruit and vegetables
- Proteins
- Dairy
- Fats and sugars
Why is the Food Pyramid important?
- Provides Dietary Guidance
The fundamental advantage of Food Pyramids is that they provide dietary guidance in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand style. The USDA introduced a colourful four-section plate with a cup on the side, known as MyPlate, in 2011 to replace the previous pyramid. It can be used to describe healthy eating patterns more straightforwardly. The underlying concept remains the same: to use the five food groups — fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy — as a means of assisting you in creating healthy, well-balanced meals from scratch.
- Showed Variety
The Food Pyramid emphasised the significance of eating a balanced, diversified diet by highlighting the necessity of eating a balanced, diverse diet. Recommended portions per day were included with each food category to convey the idea that it is healthier to eat foods from several different food groups each day than to receive most of your calories from one or two of them.
- Set Limits
Fats, oils, and sweets were portrayed at the tip of the Food Pyramid, and it was recommended that you consume no more than 100 to 300 calories per day from these sources. Even though some fats, such as olive oil, have been shown to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, many consume unhealthy fats and sweets in excess, both of which are detrimental to heart health. Thus, the recommendation to reduce fats and sweets was valid.
- Acts as a Reminder
The Food Pyramid can assist you in staying on track in terms of meeting your daily nutritional requirements. It should be printed out and posted on your refrigerator, in your office, or in another prominent location where you will see it frequently. It gives you a gentle nudge to eat more healthfully and keeps track of which items you’ve already consumed and which ones you should include in your next meal. For example, if you skipped breakfast for the day, the Food Pyramid can remind you to have a snack such as a yoghurt or to include low-fat dairy with lunch if you did not.
- Know the serving sizes
The USDA’s MyPlate, which is the latest version of the food pyramid, does not include this information; however, practically every other version of the food pyramid provides suggested daily serving sizes for each food group. Simply consuming that amount of each food category daily will ensure that you get a little bit of everything you require.
It’s advised to take Covid 19 Vaccine.
