Wellness Department -
On the First Day of Wellness...12 Days of Wellness
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MyPyramid replaces the Food Guide Pyramid introduced in 1992. MyPyramid is part of an overall food guidance system that emphasizes the need for a more individualized approach to improving diet and lifestyle. It incorporates recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released by the US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services in January 2005.
Activity: The person climbing the steps represents YOU being active every day. In response to Americans’ sedentary lifestyles, or "couch potato syndrome," the new pyramid addresses the growing problems with lack of fitness, obesity, and poor nutrition.
Exercise helps to lower your risks of diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cancer. Therefore, get at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. This is above and beyond normal daily activity, unless your job includes lots of vigorous physical activity.
Moderation: The new pyramid is tipped on its side. Now all the food group bands run from the top of the pyramid to the base. The wider base stands for foods with little or no solid fats or added sugars, which should be selected more often. The narrower top represents foods with more sugars and solid fats. The more active you are, the more of these foods you can fit into your daily food choices.
For example, plain broccoli is found at the base of the vegetable group. Moving up the pyramid is broccoli with lemon juice and olive oil, and above that is broccoli with cheese sauce. At the very tip is deep fried, breaded broccoli with cheese sauce.
Proportionality: The different widths of the bands show how much food you should eat from each food group. The widths are just a general guide, not exact proportions. How much YOU need depends on your calorie needs, which are determined by your age, gender and activity level.
Variety: MyPyramid includes six color bands representing the five food groups and oils. These bands show that foods from all groups are needed each day for good health. Oils are included for the first time, because research shows that vegetables oils and oils in some fish contain fatty acids that are important for health.
Personalized Just For You: One pyramid does not fit everyone, so 12 different ones were created. Depending on how many calories you need and how active you are, there is a pyramid for you at www.MyPyramid.gov. You can print out a personalized plan and a worksheet to track your progress, as well as choose food and activity goals for tomorrow.
The above information can be found at: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/nutrition/nutrition/dietary_guide/hgic4010.html
Activity for Today: Go to www.mypyramid.gov and read the tip of the day, be sure to click on the link to other tips of the day.
Mark on your Calendar: The tip of the day listed on the web site..
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