Updated Nutrition Resources

In a previous Library entry, I wrote about the Dietary Guidelines For Americans and MyPlate as nutrition resources. Since then, a few things have changed.

Every 5 years the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is updated. The previous version was 2020 - 2025, The newest version, which can be accessed here made some notable changes to recommendations for healthy eating. Two notable changes in these guidelines are the transition away from MyPlate to a revised food pyramid, and the increased emphasis on eating whole fruits and vegetables.

The most notable change to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is that MyPlate was replaced with realfood.gov . When this transition happened the MyPlate graphic was replaced with an inverted food pyramid. The Realfood website goes into detail about each part of the food pyramid and breaks it up into 3 groups:

• Protein, Dairy, & Healthy fats

• Vegetables & Fruits

• Whole Grains

Previous editions of food pyramids have included a small section for refined sugars and sweets, this version omits that completely. This is due to an increased emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods. The Realfood website also has a resource for daily servings for the food groups based on calorie intake level. This is a fantastic resource for healthy eating but it is important to remember that it may not always reflect the needs of athletes.