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Sounds good doesn’t it? Try visualizing a pyramid of food! Actually, a nutrition food pyramid is a tool developed by the US Department of Agriculture to help you plan a healthy diet. It guides you to choose from a wide variety of foods, the nutrients they offer and the ideal serving sizes to help you control the amount of carbohydrates, calories, saturated fats, fats, sodium, sugar and cholesterol in your daily diet. If you can monitor and maintain the levels of nutrients in your diet, you will be able to lead a very healthy life.

The food pyramids base contains the largest food category including grains, cereals, pastas and breads, which provide a major source of energy through complex carbohydrates. They offer low fat options from which you need to have 6 to 11 servings a day. The next category up contains fruits and vegetables which are wonderful sources of Vitamins A and C, potassium or folate. They have high fiber and low fats and sodium and should be consumed in 3 to 5 servings of vegetables per day, with 2 to 4 servings of fruits.

The next level in the nutrition food pyramid comprises fish, meat and poultry which supply iron, protein and zinc. These nutrients are also to be found in non-meat items like beans and dried peas. You should ideally have 2 to 3 servings of these every day. Dairy products are next in line which provide minerals (especially calcium), vitamins and proteins and should be taken 2 to 3 times a day. It is advisable o avoid cheeses that are high in fat and ice cream.

The tip of the food pyramid, which is sweets and fats, is the smallest and so should form the smallest part of your daily diet. These basically provide very little nutrition and are high in calories. This category also includes butter, cream, oils, salad dressings, sugars, candies and so on. These are best avoided.

If you are serious about your diet, try getting as much information on nutrition as possible. Since any information on nutrition contains data on the nutritional values of different food groups, you will find it easier to plan your daily diet well ahead of time. Once you know what your body requires, you can work out how many servings you require from each group in order to meet your daily needs.

The amount of nutrients you need will be different from someone else’s requirements. This is because your age, weight, life style, level of activity and health problems influences your requirement of nutrients. Women leading sedentary lives shouldn’t consume more than 1600 calories a day. Sedentary men, active women, children and teenage girls should have around 2200 calories. And very active women, active men and teenage boys should consume around 2800 calories a day.

If you can restrict your calorie consumption to these numbers you are more likely to experience weight loss. Try to ensure that you consume the minimum number of servings from each food group in order to maintain a healthy diet.