4. THE OLD FOOD PYRAMID

The food pyramid that is known as the official USDA food pyramid was changed in the spring of 2005 because they wanted to better convey the example of how to stay healthy. The old food pyramid was used much the same as the new one is, where you should eat more of the foods at the bottom of the pyramid, and work your way up, eating less of those close to the top. The old food pyramid had six sections, beginning at the very bottom with Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta group. Of this group you were supposed to eat six to eleven servings, and it didn't separate white bread and pastas from whole grains. Above that were the Fruit and Vegetable groups. You were instructed to eat two to four servings of fruits, and three to five servings of vegetables, again, these were very general terms. The third tier of the old food pyramid consisted of the Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese group, and the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dried Beans, Eggs, and Nuts group. The chart indicated to eat two to three servings each of these two groups. At the top was Fats, Oils, and Sweets, which were just directed to be used sparingly, and indicated no guidelines for what fit into that category. The old food pyramid also didn't include anything about exercise, or alcohol consumption, thus leaving that up to the consumer.