The Food Guide Pyramid is a guide that helps people choose a healthy diet. It shows the recommended number of daily servings from each of the major food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and proteins. The pyramid shape is used because it illustrates that grains should make up the largest part of one's diet, with vegetables and fruits in the next layers and dairy and proteins at the top. Following the Food Guide Pyramid recommendations helps ensure a balanced diet that provides all necessary nutrients and reduces risk of health issues like heart disease and diabetes.

1. The Food Guide Pyramid Meg Sundseth May 2002

2. So what is this Food Pyramid? (Click on the button that you think fits best) An Egyptian refrigerator. A stack of Tater Tots. It’s a guide that helps us choose healthy foods.

3. Nope try again.

4. Okay, it is a pyramid of food but it’s not THE Food Pyramid. Try again.

5. You’re right!!! This is what it looks like. You can click on it for a bigger view. From USDA It’s a guide that helps us make healthy food choices. It tells us all the food groups our bodies need and how many servings of each group we need.

6. So, why is it shaped like a pyramid? The base or the bottom of the pyramid is the grain, cereal and bread group. We need 6 to 11 servings of this group. The most of any of them. If you were to make a pyramid out of Tater Tots you would put the most on the bottom to support all the rest. From USDA

7. The next layer up is the fruits and vegetables group.You need 2 to 4 servings of the fruits and 3 to 5 servings of the vegetables. From USDA

8. The next layer is the dairy and the protein groups. We need 2 to 3 servings a day of the dairy group and 2 to 3 servings of the protein group. From USDA

9. The tip-top of the pyramid is the sugar,fats, and salt group. Guess what? We don’t need to make choices for that group because if we eat foods from the other groups we get all the fats, sugars and salt our bodies need. But that’s the fun group!!! If you eat a little bit from this group it’s okay but concentrate on getting foods from the other groups. From USDA

10. The shape of the Pyramid is balanced. If we make the best food choices our diets will be balanced, which means our health will be balanced. From Healthy Kid’s Challenge From Healthy Kid’s Challenge

11. If you built a pyramid and take out a few pieces in the middle or build it with the smallest part on the bottom, what will happen? All of a sudden, it would come tumbling down!!

12. Maybe you’re too tired to do your work at school, You’re cranky, Cuts and injuries might take longer to heal, Or it takes longer to get over a cold. Our bodies don’t come tumbling down, but little things might happen like: From Barry’s ClipArt

13. In the long run if we don’t choose a healthy diet we have a greater chance of getting some bad diseases like: Heart disease Diabetes Obesity From Barry’s ClipArt

14. Our bodies are unique, complicated machines. Food is our fuel. It gives us energy, vitamins, minerals, and special compounds or nutrients that keep us running smoothly. From Barry’s ClipArt

15. Each group on the Pyramid contains certain nutrients. If we eat foods from each group we’ll be sure to get all the nutrients we need. From Barry’s ClipArt

16. You may have seen some of those nutrients on the labels of some of the foods you have eaten. Some are: protein carbohydrates iron vitamin C calcium cholesterol Click on the bowl of fruit to see a couple of food labels. From Barry’s ClipArt

17. There’s a lot to know about food and nutrition. Knowing about the Food Guide Pyramid gives you a good start at having a balanced diet and living a healthy life style.

18. Now that you know so much about the Food Pyramid click on the Food Pyramid to find more facts about food and nutrition. From Healthy Kid’s Challenge

19. Bibliography Food and Nutritional Information Center. (1995, December). Eat a variety of foods, cereal label. The interactive Food Guide Pyramid. Retrieved May 2, 2002 from the World Wide Web: ( http://www. nal . usda . gov / fnic / dga /dga95/fig02.html ). Food and Nutritional Information Center. Large image of the Food Guide Pyramid with labels. Retrieved May 2, 2002 from the World Wide Web: ( http://www. nalusda . gov / fnic / Fpyr /pyramid. gif ). Healthy Kids Challenge. (2001, July). Kids and families. Retrieved May 2, 2002 from the world Wide Web ( http://www. healthykidschallenge .com/ funforkids .html# ). Sundseth, M. (2002, May). Hunt for facts about nutrition. ( http://www. kn . pacbell .com/wired/ fil /pages/listnutritiome2.html ).