Americans are used to seeing a food pyramid with fats and oils at the top and breads and grains at the bottom, with layers of proteins, dairy, fruits and vegetables in between. This pyramid was released in 1992 and is completely out of date with the way Americans live their lives today. This is why the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a new pyramid.

The new pyramid is based on the “DASH” diet, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Research shows that a diet rich in low fat milk, cheese and yogurt, fruits and vegetables, and low in fat and sodium substantially lowers blood pressure in people with or without high blood pressure as effectively as some medications, according to the National Dairy Council.

“The new pyramid is not a one size fits all approach. It is very personalized that can help you choose foods and amounts that are right for you. The MyPyramid plan allows you to enter your weight, age, physical activity level and daily intake of foods so you can get the most nutrition out of the calories you consume,” said Susan Yake, Naval Hospital Bremerton dietitian.

The MyPyramid plan is available at MyPyramid.gov and is the primary nutritional guidelines source for Naval Hospital Bremerton. The site is set up with a search bar, allowing you to find the foods you’ve eaten along with the amount consumed. This feature will add foods to your daily list and calculate how you are doing in each category of the food groups, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.

The pyramid gives you a complete breakdown of the number of cups / ounces you’ve eaten in each category that day compared to the amount recommended by the guidelines for someone of your stature. The easiest way to read this chart is to follow the emoticons that gives you a smiley face, a sad face or a straight face next to each of these comparisons so that you know where you need to pay more attention.

“The biggest difference people will notice in this new pyramid, besides the personalization, is the trans fat emphasis. According to national Fitness and Wellness Expert Kenneth Coopers, ‘a two percent increase in trans fit in a persons diet increases the risk of heart disease by 98 percent.’ That is another huge reason why people should be paying attention to food labels and keeping track on their daily intake of fats,” said Yake.

The site is free and available to everyone. To sign up and start tracking you way to a healthier lifestyle visit MyPyramid.gov. +