Before talking about the food pyramid, you should know that the healthy eating pyramid is built on the basis of daily exercise and weight control. Because these two factors have really important effects for maintaining good health. Exercise and weight can affect what people eat and how to eat. What people eat and how to eat influent their own health. So you should also keep on daily exercise and weight control for good health. Now, we come back to talk about American healthy food pyramid from base to top gradually as below,
Whole wheat food(dine in):
The body needs carbohydrates to provide energy. The best sources of carbohydrates are whole wheat, such as oatmeal, rough bread, and brown rice (ie brown rice). They contain the bran and germ, as well as energy-rich starch. ?Human digestion for whole wheat need longer than digestion direct carbohydrates such as white bread. This causes the body’s blood sugar and insulin to maintain a reasonable level and will soon decline. This could be a good control of blood sugar and insulin levels. So it can reduce the body’s hunger and prevent the occurrence of type II diabetes.
Vegetable oil.?
Americans get the daily calories 1/3 from fat averagely. So it is reasonable to put them in the lower part of the pyramid. Pls note that the specified herein are vegetable oils, not all types of fat. Healthy unsaturated fats come from olive, soybean, corn, sunflower, peanut, and other vegetable oils, and fatty fish such as salmon. These healthy fats not only improve cholesterol levels, but also effectively prevent the potential for sudden cardiac death and myocardial infarction.
Vegetables (a lot of) and fruit (2-3 times daily):
Eating more vegetables and fruits have many advantages to the health.
It can effectively prevent the occurrence of heart attacks and angina;
It can prevent various types of cancer;
It can lower blood pressure;
It can alleviate intestinal disease called diverticulitis;
It can make prevention and treatment of cataracts and glaucoma.?For the elderly over the age of 65, ?cataracts and glaucoma are major cause of blindness.
Fish, poultry, eggs (0-2 times daily):
Fish, poultry and eggs are?the primary source of protein. A large number of studies have shown that eating fish can reduce the risk of heart disease. Chicken meat and turkey have low saturated fat content. They ?are also a good source of protein. Eggs is always called bad foods because of its relatively high cholesterol content. However,in fact, the egg is a good breakfast. No doubt,it is much better than fried donuts or bagels.
Nuts and shelled beans (1-3 times daily):
Nuts and shelled beans is the best sources of a plant protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Many nuts are rich in healthy fats, such as, almond, walnut, hickory, peanuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts and so on. They are beneficial to the heart.
Healthy eating Pyramid summarizes the best diet information. With development and further study, the healthy eating Pyramid will be advancing with times and reflect the latest research results.