What are the main differences between MyPlate and Harvard's healthy eating plate?

October 31, 2025 •

4 min read

Though less than one-third of U.S. adults have even heard of MyPlate, many are familiar with its simple, five-food-group icon. The core issue addressed here is what are the main differences between MyPlate and Harvard's healthy eating plate?

Quick Summary

This article compares MyPlate and Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate, highlighting key distinctions in dietary quality, food group specifics, and underlying influences. It analyzes recommendations for grains, proteins, fats, beverages, and physical activity.

Key Points

Diet Quality: Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate prioritizes diet quality and specific food choices, while MyPlate offers more general guidance for food groups.
Grains: The Harvard guide recommends whole grains and limiting refined grains, a distinction absent in MyPlate.
Protein: Harvard's plate encourages healthy proteins like fish and beans and advises limiting red/processed meats, unlike MyPlate's general 'protein' category.
Beverages: Harvard suggests water as the primary beverage and limits dairy, whereas MyPlate features dairy as a prominent food group.
Fats: Healthy oils are explicitly included in the Harvard guide but are not addressed in MyPlate.
Scientific Basis: The Harvard plate is based on independent scientific research, free from the commercial and political pressures that have influenced USDA's MyPlate.
Physical Activity: Harvard's guide incorporates a reminder for physical activity, a crucial element of health that MyPlate does not include.

Both the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) MyPlate and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Healthy Eating Plate serve as visual guides to help people build healthier meals. While the icons bear a superficial resemblance—both using a divided plate—the nutritional specifics and the guiding philosophies behind them differ significantly. The Harvard plate offers more detailed and evidence-based guidance, unconstrained by agricultural industry lobbying, which has historically influenced USDA guidelines. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for anyone seeking comprehensive and scientifically-supported dietary advice.

The Foundation of USDA's MyPlate

Introduced in 2011, MyPlate replaced the long-standing Food Pyramid and aims to promote healthier eating by illustrating the five basic food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. The simplicity is intentional, making it an easy-to-digest guide for the general public. The icon is divided into four sections for fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein, with a separate smaller circle for dairy. While a step up from previous USDA models, MyPlate's primary limitation is its lack of specificity. It treats all foods within a category equally, potentially leading consumers to make less healthy choices. For instance, a hamburger on a white bun with a side of french fries and milk could technically align with MyPlate's format, despite being far from a nutritionally optimal meal. This lack of nuance is a key point of criticism from nutrition experts.

The Science-Based Approach of Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate

Developed by Harvard's nutrition experts, the Healthy Eating Plate addresses the shortcomings of MyPlate by providing more specific, quality-focused recommendations based on the latest scientific evidence. This guide prioritizes diet quality over general food group representation. Its creators explicitly state that it was not influenced by food industry or agricultural policy, allowing for more unbiased advice. The Harvard plate divides the meal differently and includes additional components, such as healthy oils and physical activity, to provide a more holistic health guide. This model is designed to steer consumers toward healthier options within each food category, such as prioritizing whole grains and limiting red and processed meats.

A Detailed Comparison of Recommendations

Grains: Whole vs. Refined

One of the most significant differences lies in the grains category. MyPlate simply recommends 'grains' without specifying the type. The Healthy Eating Plate, however, explicitly recommends choosing whole grains (like brown rice, quinoa, and oats) and limiting refined grains (like white bread and white rice), which can cause unhealthy blood sugar spikes.

Protein: Quality Matters

MyPlate's protein section includes all protein sources without qualification. The Harvard guide emphasizes healthy proteins, such as fish, poultry, beans, and nuts. It also advises limiting red meat and avoiding processed meats, linking their consumption to increased risks of heart disease and other health issues.

Dairy vs. Water

MyPlate prominently features a dairy serving, which critics argue is driven by the dairy industry. The Healthy Eating Plate removes dairy from the main plate, instead suggesting water as the primary beverage. It recommends limiting milk and dairy intake to one to two servings per day, based on research that doesn't strongly support high intake for bone health. The Harvard plate also explicitly warns against sugary drinks.

Healthy Oils: Included vs. Ignored

While MyPlate is silent on the topic of fats, the Healthy Eating Plate prominently features a bottle of healthy oils. It encourages the use of olive, canola, and other plant-based oils, emphasizing their benefits for heart health and cholesterol levels, while recommending limiting butter and avoiding trans fats.

The Role of Physical Activity

Unlike MyPlate, the Harvard plate includes a small image of a running figure, reminding consumers that physical activity is a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle. This reinforces that nutrition is just one piece of the wellness puzzle.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two dietary guides:


Feature	MyPlate (USDA)	Harvard Healthy Eating Plate
Grains	Treats all grains equally.	Emphasizes whole grains and limits refined grains.
Protein	No distinction between protein sources.	Encourages healthy proteins (fish, poultry, nuts, beans), limits red/processed meats.
Dairy	Encourages daily dairy consumption.	Recommends limiting dairy (1-2 servings/day).
Beverage	Suggests dairy.	Recommends water as the primary beverage; limits milk/juice; avoids sugary drinks.
Fats	Silent on the topic of healthy fats.	Explicitly includes healthy oils (olive, canola) and warns against trans fats.
Potatoes	Includes potatoes as a vegetable.	Excludes potatoes from the vegetable group due to blood sugar effects.
Physical Activity	Not explicitly mentioned on the icon.	Includes a reminder to stay physically active.
Underlying Influence	Influenced by USDA and food industry interests.	Based on independent, up-to-date nutrition science.

Conclusion: Which Plate Should You Choose?

The choice between MyPlate and the Healthy Eating Plate depends on your needs. MyPlate's greatest strength is its simplicity; it offers an easy-to-understand visual framework for meal composition. However, its generalized advice can be misleading and has been criticized for being politically influenced. In contrast, Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate provides a more specific, evidence-based, and detailed set of recommendations for achieving a higher-quality diet. It clearly distinguishes between healthy and unhealthy food choices within the major food groups. For those seeking the most precise and scientifically sound advice, the Harvard model is superior. Ultimately, the best approach for most people is to use MyPlate as a simple starting point and apply the more nuanced, quality-focused principles of the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate to make better choices within each food category. The key takeaway from the Harvard model is that diet quality is paramount, and details matter when it comes to long-term health.

For more information on the principles of the Harvard plate, you can visit the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Nutrition Source website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Harvard's Healthy Eating Plate excludes potatoes because they contain a rapidly digested starch that has a similar effect on blood sugar to refined grains and sweets. This distinction is made to encourage a greater variety of vegetables.

MyPlate's emphasis on dairy is often seen by critics as being influenced by the dairy industry, which has historically lobbied the USDA. Harvard's plate limits dairy, arguing there's little strong evidence that high intake is necessary for bone health and pointing to potential risks with excessive consumption.

No, MyPlate does not provide any specific recommendations or guidance regarding healthy fats or oils. This contrasts with the Harvard plate, which explicitly promotes healthy, plant-based oils and warns against trans fats.

The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate advises consumers to avoid sugary drinks, including soda and fruit juice. It promotes water, tea, or coffee (with little or no sugar) instead, citing the link between sugary drinks and obesity and diabetes.

While the Harvard plate provides more detailed guidelines, some may find MyPlate's simple visual easier to follow initially. The Harvard plate is designed to be more specific and comprehensive for those seeking more nuanced, health-conscious choices.

Harvard's plate promotes water as the main beverage because it is calorie-free and essential for bodily functions. It limits milk and dairy, based on scientific evidence suggesting high intake may not be as beneficial as previously thought and can be associated with certain health risks.

MyPlate has a generic protein section, but the Harvard plate specifies prioritizing healthy protein sources like fish, poultry, beans, and nuts, while actively limiting red and processed meats due to associated health risks.