This Belgian Food Pyramid Is a Handy Cheat Sheet for Healthy Eating
There are many ways to eat healthy, but most experts agree that hard candy, fries, beer, and bacon are the things to keep to a minimum. Belgium’s new food pyramid is pushing these foods aside, with vegetables and whole grains in the spotlight.
The result is “a realistic model that fits perfectly into Flemish food culture,” but it could work well for Americans as well. (Our own version of MyPlate bypasses political issues by not naming any specific foods.) The largest part of the Belgian pyramid is a vegan playground: fruits and vegetables, beans, tofu, whole grain breads and pasta, nuts and seeds. … Oil is also in this category. The website is in Dutch, but you can watch this video and switch subtitles to automatic translation / English:
The next band includes fish, poultry, dairy products and eggs. And the tip of the pyramid – you can still eat, but the “nanny” (less) than the others – contains butter and red meat. And then everything that you already knew was not so good for you is cut off in another section. Don’t count them as part of your healthy diet, as the graph suggests, but you know where to find them if you really can’t resist.