What are the USDA's MyPlate guidelines?

January 1, 2026 •

4 min read

In 2011, MyPlate replaced the long-standing Food Pyramid as the USDA's primary food group symbol for healthy eating. This visual tool provides a simple, at-a-glance framework to help Americans build nutritious meals and understand what are the USDA's MyPlate guidelines. The icon, shaped like a plate, is a reminder to focus on proportionality and variety in your diet.

Quick Summary

The USDA's MyPlate is a visual guide promoting balanced nutrition by illustrating five food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. It emphasizes filling half the plate with fruits and vegetables, varying protein sources, and choosing whole grains over refined grains.

Key Points

Visual Simplicity: MyPlate uses a simple plate icon to visually represent recommended food group proportions, making healthy eating concepts easier to grasp.
Five Core Groups: The guide is built around five food groups: vegetables, fruits, grains, protein foods, and dairy, with visual emphasis on fruits and vegetables.
Half the Plate for Plants: A core message is to fill half of your plate with a variety of fruits and vegetables at mealtimes.
Emphasis on Whole Grains: The guidelines encourage making at least half of your grain intake whole grains for increased fiber and nutritional benefits.
Vary Your Protein: MyPlate recommends varying your protein sources, including lean meats, seafood, beans, and nuts, to ensure a diverse nutrient intake.
Promotes Low-Fat Dairy: The guide suggests switching to low-fat or fat-free milk, yogurt, and other dairy options, or fortified soy alternatives.
Personalized Guidance: The official MyPlate website provides tools and resources to create a personalized eating plan based on individual needs.
Focuses on Balance: MyPlate promotes creating a healthy eating pattern over time by focusing on balance, variety, and nutrient density, not just single meals.

The Origins and Purpose of MyPlate

Introduced in 2011, MyPlate was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the successor to the previous food pyramid diagrams. Its purpose is to communicate the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in an accessible, simple format. The visual of a familiar place setting helps consumers, from children to adults, to visualize the components of a healthy meal without the complex jargon associated with older models. It serves as a visual cue to build a balanced plate at mealtimes, focusing on proportionality and nutritional density.

The Five Food Groups of MyPlate

MyPlate divides a meal into five distinct food groups, each with specific recommendations to promote a well-rounded diet. The core message is to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, while the other half is divided between grains and protein. A separate, smaller circle represents the dairy group.

Vegetables

This section, which takes up a large portion of the plate, encourages variety. The guidelines recommend choosing from all subgroups over the week, including dark-green vegetables, red and orange vegetables, starchy vegetables, and beans and peas. This variety ensures a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals. Cooking and preparation methods are also important, with MyPlate advising to limit added sodium and fats.

Fruits

Sharing the other half of the plate with vegetables, the fruits section emphasizes focusing on whole fruits, such as fresh, frozen, or canned options, over fruit juice. This encourages the consumption of more dietary fiber and nutrients. Adding fruits to breakfast cereal or as a topping for yogurt are simple, practical examples of how to incorporate more fruits into your daily routine.

Grains

MyPlate advises making at least half of your grains whole grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel—the bran, endosperm, and germ—providing more fiber and other vital nutrients than refined grains. Examples include brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and oatmeal. Switching from white bread to whole-wheat or adding brown rice to a stir-fry are easy ways to increase whole-grain intake.

Protein Foods

The protein section of the plate encourages varying your protein routine. This can include lean meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, and soy products. The guideline focuses on choosing lean or low-fat options and includes a variety of sources to ensure a wider range of nutrients. For example, varying your protein intake with seafood, nuts, or seeds can increase your intake of unsaturated fats and vitamin D.

Dairy

The small circle next to the plate represents dairy, recommending fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt, or fortified soy alternatives. Dairy products are a key source of calcium, which is essential for bone health. MyPlate provides tips like enjoying a yogurt parfait or using low-fat milk in recipes to meet daily dairy needs.

MyPlate vs. The Food Pyramid

The transition from the Food Pyramid to MyPlate marked a significant shift in nutritional guidance. While both were designed to promote healthy eating, MyPlate offers a simpler, more intuitive approach. Here is a comparison of the key differences:


Feature	Food Pyramid (previous model)	MyPlate (current model)
Visual Aid	A pyramid with six horizontal bands, showing proportion through width.	A plate divided into four sections with an adjacent dairy circle, representing proportions clearly.
Clarity	Often criticized as confusing, with different bands sometimes suggesting unequal importance or requiring detailed interpretation.	Simple and intuitive, making it easy to see the recommended proportions at a glance.
Proportionality	Suggested a large base of grains, which some interpreted as permission to over-consume carbohydrates.	Immediately shows that half of the plate should be fruits and vegetables, emphasizing plant-based foods.
Flexibility	Less emphasis on variety within groups, sometimes focusing more on limiting specific foods.	Encourages variety within each food group (e.g., "Vary your veggies," "Vary your protein routine") and offers more personalization.
Actionable Advice	Required more detailed knowledge to apply, making it less practical for daily meal planning.	Provides straightforward, actionable messages like "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables," making implementation easier.

Practical Tips for Adopting MyPlate Guidelines

Using MyPlate is less about rigid rules and more about a flexible framework for building a healthy eating style for life. Here are some ways to integrate the guidelines into your daily routine:

Focus on Whole Foods: Emphasize whole fruits over juices and whole grains over refined ones to increase fiber and nutrient intake.
Vary Your Choices: To maximize nutrient diversity, intentionally choose a variety of colorful vegetables and different protein sources throughout the week.
Shop Smart: Use the MyPlate principles while grocery shopping. Look for lean proteins, low-fat dairy options, and whole-grain products. Frozen and canned options are also endorsed for convenience and budget.
Customize Your Plate: The MyPlate website offers personalized plans based on your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level, giving you specific targets for each food group.
Balance Over Time: Remember that perfect adherence at every meal isn't the goal. The overall eating pattern throughout the day or week is what counts.

Conclusion

The USDA's MyPlate guidelines provide an evidence-based, simple, and visual guide for building healthier meals. By emphasizing proportional balance across fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy, MyPlate offers a highly practical tool for improving dietary habits. It represents a more modern and accessible approach to nutrition compared to its predecessor, empowering individuals to make informed food choices that can lead to better long-term health outcomes.

Optional Outbound Link: For more detailed information, tools, and personalized eating plans, visit the official MyPlate website at https://www.myplate.gov/.

Frequently Asked Questions

The main difference is MyPlate's visual simplicity. MyPlate uses a familiar plate icon to clearly show recommended proportions (half plate fruits and vegetables), while the older Food Pyramid used horizontal bands that were often confusing for consumers to interpret.

No, MyPlate provides a flexible framework rather than rigid rules. It offers guidance on food groups and proportions, allowing for personalization based on individual dietary preferences, needs, and cultural foods. The core message is to focus on variety, amount, and nutrition.

Not necessarily. The MyPlate model is meant to be a guide for overall eating patterns throughout the day or week, not a strict requirement for every single meal. If a meal, like breakfast, doesn't include a vegetable, you can balance it out later with a fruit or larger portions of vegetables at lunch and dinner.

MyPlate emphasizes whole fruits and whole grains because they are more nutrient-dense. Whole grains provide more fiber, magnesium, and zinc compared to refined grains. Whole fruits offer more dietary fiber and other nutrients than fruit juice, which often contains added sugars.

Varying your protein routine involves consuming a wide variety of protein sources beyond just meat and poultry. You can include more fish, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy products to get a broader range of essential nutrients, like unsaturated fats and vitamin D.

Yes, MyPlate is fully adaptable for vegetarians and vegans. It includes plant-based protein options like beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy products, and recommends fortified soy alternatives to dairy. The focus is on getting enough variety and amount from the appropriate food groups.

The official MyPlate.gov website offers a wealth of resources, including a personalized meal planner (MyPlate Plan), tip sheets, recipes, budget-friendly ideas, and even a mobile app to help you track your goals.