Health & Nutrition: New food Pyramid Unveiled by USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns recently unveiled MyPyramid, a new symbol and interactive food guidance system. “Steps to a Healthier You,” MyPyramid’s central message, supports President Bush’s Healthier US initiative which is designed to help Americans live longer, better and healthier lives. MyPyramid, which replaces the Food Guide Pyramid introduced in 1992, is part of an overall food guidance system that emphasizes the need for a more individualized approach to improving diet and lifestyle. A new website MyPyra-mid.gov was also unveiled which contains the system specifics. The MyPyramid system uses interactive technology that allows individuals to key in their age, gender and physical activity level so that they can obtain a personalized recommendation on their daily caloric intake. The system is based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which en-courage physical activity and a diet low in saturated fats, trans-fats, cholesterol, salt and added sugars. The guidelines describe a "healthy diet" as one that emphasizes consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, milk products, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts. This breakthrough in health and nutritional guidance gives a tremendous boost to the Asian Restaurant Industry, long known to be a healthy and nutritious way to eat. For a detailed assessment of an individual’s food intake and physical activity level, website visitors can click through to the MyPyramid Tracker. Visitors to the website can take a “tour” inside the Pyramid, download a poster for daily reference and receive tips and resources.