Climbing to the Top of the Food Pyramid

They've tossed it on its side and added a rainbow of colors. But that's just the beginning of the changes for the U.S. government's new Food Pyramid.

But if you're like many of us, you may be wondering, "What was wrong with the old pyramid?" And is everything they told us before no longer true?

The good news is that experts say the new guidelines themselves are quite similar to the old, with the graphic changes in the pyramid simply being more representational of what those guidelines are.

"There was nothing wrong with the old pyramid, except that it left too much open for interpretation; the new pyramid is more specific and more reflective of what the guidelines actually say," says nutritionist Cathy Nonas, MS, RD, director of diabetes and obesity programs at North General Hospital in Harlem, N.Y.

The Rainbow of Colors

These specifics include brightly colored vertical stripes, each representing one of these food groups: grains (orange and the widest stripe), vegetables (green), fruits (red), oils (yellow and the thinnest stripe), milk products including most foods made from milk (blue), and meat & beans (purple). The different sizes of the bands show us the different proportions of foods we should eat from each food group.

The stripes are also engineered to be wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, ostensibly to drive home the idea that not all foods within that group are of the same value. It reminds us to eat mostly foods without solid fats and added sugars.

Unfortunately, make just one visit to www.mypyramid.gov and you'll soon discover that making your food choices might seem like it's easier said than done. Indeed, among the criticisms that surfaced since the pyramid debuted is that the new system is simply too confusing to be of much use.

"The new design does not clearly communicate which foods Americans should be eating more of (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean meat, and beans) and which foods Americans should be eating less of (refined grains, whole milk, cheese, hamburgers, and soda)," was just one of the statements about the new food pyramid released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

At the same time, other experts say that by mastering just a little bit of a learning curve, all Americans can gather some vital data from the pyramid; information that just might help us turn some unhealthy eating habits, as well as our burgeoning obesity epidemic, around.

"I think it's immediately more confusing and a little hard for some people, but I think that years down the road it will prove beneficial," Nonas tells WebMD.