The U.S. government's official food guidance is not a single guide but a comprehensive policy document paired with a simple visual tool. The policy document, updated every five years, is called the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For the general public, this is translated into the familiar visual icon, MyPlate. Together, they provide evidence-based recommendations to promote health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases among Americans of all ages.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans: The Scientific Foundation
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the foundational document that provides the science-based recommendations. The current version, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, is the first to cover the entire lifespan, from birth through older adulthood. This document is intended for professionals like policymakers, health care providers, and nutrition educators. The core principles are intended to be customized to personal preferences, cultural traditions, and budgetary considerations.
Key recommendations of the current guidelines
- Follow a healthy dietary pattern at every life stage: Emphasizes that healthy eating is important at every age, and it's never too early or too late to start.
- Customize nutrient-dense food choices: Encourages building a dietary pattern from nutrient-dense foods and beverages that align with an individual's unique needs and cultural heritage.
- Focus on meeting food group needs: A healthy eating pattern is composed of nutrient-dense foods from all food groups, within appropriate calorie limits.
- Limit specific items: Advises limiting foods and beverages high in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium, and moderating alcohol consumption.
MyPlate: The Easy-to-Understand Visual Guide
MyPlate was introduced in 2011 to replace the confusing Food Pyramid as an icon for healthy eating. Its simple visual, a place setting divided into sections, makes healthy eating actionable by emphasizing five key food groups at mealtime.
The five food groups of MyPlate
- Fruits: Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts, but focusing on whole fruits (fresh, frozen, canned, or dried) is encouraged.
- Vegetables: This group includes all types of vegetables, such as dark green, red and orange, starchy, and legumes (beans and peas).
- Grains: Includes any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley, or another cereal grain. The recommendation is to make at least half your grains whole grains.
- Protein Foods: Includes seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy products. The advice is to 'vary your protein routine'.
- Dairy: Consists of milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy beverages. Low-fat or fat-free options are recommended.
The MyPlate icon suggests filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables, and the other half with grains and protein, accompanied by a serving of dairy.
Comparison: MyPlate vs. The Food Pyramid
The shift from the Food Pyramid to MyPlate represents a significant evolution in nutritional communication. The changes focused on simplifying the message and making it more practical for daily life.
| Feature | The Food Pyramid (1992-2011) | MyPlate (2011-Present) |
|---|---|---|
| Visual Representation | A pyramid with large base for grains and small top for fats/sweets. | A dinner plate divided into food group sections. |
| Main Message | Emphasized number of servings from each food group. | Focuses on proportion and balance at each meal. |
| Emphasis | Heavily emphasized grains, leading to some misinterpretation. | Visually prioritizes fruits and vegetables, which make up half the plate. |
| Ease of Use | Considered complex due to serving sizes and abstract graphic. | Intuitive and relatable; aligns with how people prepare meals. |
| Inclusion of Fats | Explicitly showed fats and sweets at the top as a group to be used sparingly. | Fats and oils are discussed within the dietary guidelines but not on the primary visual plate icon. |
How to Use MyPlate to Make Healthy Choices
Using the MyPlate model is a simple way to build balanced meals. Instead of strictly counting calories or servings, it provides a flexible framework for everyday eating.
Practical application tips
- Fill Half Your Plate with Produce: Make a conscious effort to ensure fruits and vegetables cover about half of your plate. Varying your choices helps ensure a wide range of vitamins and nutrients.
- Make Half Your Grains Whole: When selecting grains like bread, pasta, or rice, opt for whole-grain versions. Look for “whole grain” listed as the first ingredient.
- Vary Your Protein: Mix up your protein sources to include lean meat, poultry, seafood, and plant-based options like beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds.
- Choose Low-Fat Dairy: Include fat-free or low-fat dairy options, such as milk or yogurt, to get calcium and other nutrients.
- Watch What You Add: Be mindful of adding extra sodium, saturated fats, or added sugars during meal preparation.
Conclusion
The current food guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is represented by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its consumer-friendly visual counterpart, MyPlate. The Dietary Guidelines provides the detailed, science-based recommendations used by professionals, while MyPlate offers an intuitive, practical tool for the general public to build healthy, balanced meals. By focusing on the five food groups and emphasizing proportion and variety, MyPlate simplifies healthy eating into an easily understood visual guide. This modern approach to nutrition is a significant improvement over the older Food Pyramid, making healthy dietary choices more accessible for everyone.
Resources
For more information on the guidelines and MyPlate, visit the official government website: DietaryGuidelines.gov is the official home for the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
