If you missed the official launch a few weeks back, we’re bringing it to your attention now. The colorful food pyramid taught in grade school as a guide to a healthy diet has given way to MyPlate. The new symbol, unveiled by First Lady Michelle Obama, Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, is a food plate with four colored sections representing fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins. Next to the plate is a smaller circle representing dairy products. “MyPlate is a truly simple, powerful visual cue to help people adopt healthy eating habits at meal times,” says Vilsack. The original pyramid, released in 1992, included the four food groups stacked in the shape of a pyramid with the number of recommended servings a person should eat from each group in a day. According to Martin Binks, clinical director of Binks Behavioral Health in Durham, N.C., the pyramid was difficult to understand. Not only that, considering the obesity rates, it was just wrong to suggest that the biggest part of our diets should be carbohydrates. Today’s nutritionists now realize that fruit and veggies should dominate. With the adoption of the food plate, Americans will hopefully lean towards a more correctly balanced diet. Thankfully there is no place for soft drinks or fries.
