What are the primary food groups emphasized in the MyPlate graphic?

January 5, 2026 •

3 min read

According to the USDA, MyPlate, the current nutrition guide, replaced the food pyramid in 2011 to offer a clearer, more visual representation of healthy eating. This iconic graphic simplifies dietary guidelines by highlighting what are the primary food groups emphasized in the MyPlate graphic to help Americans make balanced food choices.

Quick Summary

The MyPlate graphic emphasizes five key food groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy. This guide provides a simple visual framework for building balanced meals, suggesting proportions for each group to ensure a variety of essential nutrients are consumed daily.

Key Points

Five Food Groups: MyPlate emphasizes five primary food groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy.
Visual Proportioning: The graphic visually proportions a plate, suggesting half should be filled with fruits and vegetables and the other half with grains and protein.
Nutrient Variety: It promotes consuming a variety of foods within each group to ensure a wide range of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Whole Grains: A key recommendation is to make at least half of your grain intake whole grains, which are richer in fiber and nutrients.
Lean Protein & Low-Fat Dairy: MyPlate advises choosing lean protein sources and low-fat or fat-free dairy products to limit saturated fat intake.
Replaced Food Pyramid: It was introduced in 2011 by the USDA as a simpler, more intuitive replacement for the complex Food Pyramid.

What is MyPlate and Why It Replaced the Food Pyramid

MyPlate, a visual icon from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is a modern and straightforward tool for promoting healthy eating. It replaced the more complex Food Pyramid in 2011 to provide a clearer, plate-based representation of a balanced meal. The goal was to offer a more intuitive guide that is easier for people to understand and apply to their daily meals. The graphic illustrates the five primary food groups, helping individuals visualize the ideal proportions for their plate at each mealtime.

The Five Food Groups of MyPlate

MyPlate divides the meal into four sections on a plate and includes a fifth food group, Dairy, represented by a smaller circle next to the plate. These five groups work together to provide the nutrients needed for a healthy body.

Fruits: Represented in red, this group provides vitamins, minerals, and fiber. MyPlate recommends whole fruits over juice for more fiber.
Vegetables: The largest section on the plate, shown in green. Vegetables are low in calories and rich in vitamins and minerals. MyPlate encourages variety across different vegetable subgroups.
Grains: This orange section is about a quarter of the plate. Aim to make at least half your grains whole grains for more fiber and nutrients.
Protein Foods: The purple section, also about a quarter of the plate. Includes meat, seafood, eggs, nuts, and beans. Vary sources and choose lean options.
Dairy: A blue circle next to the plate, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy drinks. Important for calcium and vitamin D; choose low-fat options.

Putting MyPlate into Action for Balanced Meals

MyPlate is a flexible guide. You can apply its proportions to diverse meals, like ensuring a stir-fry has roughly half vegetables, a quarter grain, and a quarter protein. It encourages smart choices when shopping, promoting whole grains and low-fat dairy. This visual tool improves nutrition knowledge and supports healthy eating.

MyPlate vs. The Food Pyramid: A Comparison


Feature	MyPlate	Food Pyramid
Visual Representation	Simple, easy-to-understand plate graphic showing portion proportions.	Complex, tiered pyramid with different food groups on each level.
Portion Guidance	Visual partitioning of a plate: half fruits and vegetables, and the other half grains and proteins.	Portion guidance often required referring to a separate chart or table for serving sizes.
Emphasis	Prioritizes fruits and vegetables, with half the plate dedicated to them.	Placed grains at the base, potentially suggesting over-consumption.
Flexibility	Offers a customizable framework that can be applied to different meal structures (e.g., sandwiches, one-dish meals).	Less adaptable to varied meal types, often interpreted rigidly.
Key Message	"Make half your plate fruits and vegetables" and "Vary your protein routine."	Focused on "eat more from the bottom, less from the top," which was less intuitive.

Making Every Bite Count

Focusing on MyPlate's guidance—half plate fruits and vegetables, varied proteins, whole grains, and low-fat dairy—helps build healthy habits. This diverse nutrient intake supports health, weight management, and reduces chronic disease risk. MyPlate's simple visual makes it an effective educational tool for promoting balanced diets.

Authority Outbound Link: Learn more about the history and development of MyPlate on the USDA website.

Conclusion: Simple Visuals for Healthier Eating

In conclusion, MyPlate effectively guides healthy eating by emphasizing five primary food groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy. Its visual prompt to fill half the plate with fruits and vegetables simplifies creating balanced meals. Understanding these groups and proportions helps make smarter dietary choices, improving overall health and well-being. Using MyPlate fosters lifelong healthy eating habits.

Frequently Asked Questions

The five main food groups are Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Protein Foods, and Dairy. The visual also suggests including oils as part of a healthy eating pattern.

Use it as a visual guide to portion your plate. Aim to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, and divide the other half between grains and protein. This helps create balanced meals.

MyPlate uses 'cup equivalents' for fruits, vegetables, and dairy, and 'ounce equivalents' for grains and protein foods. The specific amounts can be personalized based on age, gender, and activity levels using resources on MyPlate.gov.

No, MyPlate does not exclude fats and oils entirely. While they are not a represented food group on the plate, they are acknowledged as part of a healthy eating pattern and a source of essential fatty acids.

Examples include whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, and whole-wheat pasta. The recommendation is to make at least half of your grain choices whole grains.

MyPlate uses the broader 'Protein Foods' category, which includes plant-based options like beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and tofu. This makes the guide adaptable for different dietary needs and preferences.

MyPlate was introduced to simplify the nutritional message. The visual of a plate is more familiar and provides a clearer, more practical guide to balancing food intake at mealtimes compared to the tiered Food Pyramid.