MyPyramid illustrates the nutrient-rich foods needed for a healthy diet. Nutrient-rich foods include colorful fruits and vegetables; whole, fortified and fiber-rich grain foods; fat-free and low-fat dairy foods; and lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts. Five color bands in the pyramid represent the Five Food Groups to which these nutrient-rich foods belong. And each food group carries a simple, food-group message:

• Milk Group (Blue) — "Get your calcium-rich foods"
• Vegetable Group (Green) — "Vary your veggies"
• Fruit Group (Red) — "Focus on fruits"
• Meat Group (Purple) — "Go lean with protein"
• Grain Group (Orange) — "Make half your grains whole"

The yellow band in MyPyramid represents "Oils." Oils are not a food group, but some are needed for good health. Oils from fish, nuts, avocados, and liquid oils, such as canola, olive, corn and soybean are recommended.

Eating for Good Health
Eating a healthy diet is as easy as following these three steps:

• Eat Foods from All Five Food Groups Every Day — A nutritious diet includes foods from all Five Food Groups. Each food group provides different nutrients. Eating from all the food groups helps ensure that we get the nutrients necessary for good health. If we eat the recommended amounts from each group, supplements should not be necessary. Supplements are a supplement to - not a substitute for - nutritious foods.


• Eat Different Foods from Each Food Group Every Day — Even though the nutrients in each food group are similar, each food within a group provides different amounts. Eating several foods from each food group increases the chances of getting all of the nutrients needed for a healthy diet.


• Make Lean and Low-fat Choices — Choose lean meats and skinless poultry, and low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese or yogurt.

Food Group Recommendations
The amount needed from each food groups depends on a person's age, gender and activity level. The Web site, www.MyPyramid.gov, provides interactive tools for personalizing MyPyramid. MyPyramid for Kids recommends the following amounts from each food group for 6 to 11 year-olds:

• Milk Group — 3 cups
• Vegetable Group — 2 1/2 cups
• Fruit Group — 1 1/2 cups
• Meat Group — 5 ounces
• Grain Group — 6 ounce

Click here for the Eat the Five Food Group Way!™ chart that translates these amounts into daily servings.

Food Groups to Encourage
While we need to eat from all food groups, there are four food groups that health experts agree Americans need to eat from more often - The Milk Group, Vegetable Group, Fruit Group and Grain Group. According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, eating from these groups more often is likely to have important heath benefits for most Americans. The reason is they provide nutrients that are low in many Americans' diets - calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium and vitamins A, C and E. Milk Group foods provide three of these nutrients - magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Nutrient-Packed Combination Foods Count
Combination Foods like pizza, tacos and sub-sandwiches combine foods from two or more of the food groups. They count as a full or partial serving from the food groups they contain. For example, a taco provides:

• Tortilla from the Grain Group
• Ground beef from the Meat Group
• Lettuce and tomato from the Vegetable Group
• Cheese from the Milk Group

Combination foods can be nutrient-rich because of the nutrient content of the foods they combine. Nutrient-rich foods provide a high amount of beneficial nutrients compared to the calories they provide.

"Others" Are Extra
Some foods don't have enough nutrients to fit into any of the Five Food Groups. These are "Others" category foods. In comparison to calories, they provide few nutrients and should be chosen in moderation, and in addition to - not in place of - nutrient-rich Five Food Group foods. Generally, the more active our lifestyle, the easier it is to fit these foods into a diet and maintain a healthy weight.

Use positive messages when teaching children about "Others" foods. They need to learn that limited amounts of "Others" foods are okay, as long as they don't take the place of nutritious, Five-Food-Group food, and they balance their choices with plenty of daily physical activity.