After nearly two decades, the Healthy Eating Pyramid has been refreshed to reflect the healthy eating habits of 2015.
Gone are the days when cakes, soft drinks and chocolate were featured in the “eat least” section at the tip of the pyramid. Now Margarine, bad oils and sugar are completely removed from the picture, replaced with “healthy fats” like good oils.
The new pyramid features seeds, legumes and proteins such as tofu. Grains like quinoa have replaced the usual carbohydrate and cereal level, with a focus on varieties of cous cous, oats and soba noodles over bleached alternatives like starchy breads, white rice and pasta.
The original education tool has become obsolete with nutritionists seeing diets that are heavily focussed on processed carbohydrates, leading to obesity and weight gain.
Vegetables have taken their rightful place at the base of the pyramid, as a reminder that only 7 percent of Australians are getting their recommended daily serves of veggies.
Also the addition of herbs and spices as seasonings, and as a substitutes for salt, has promoted the pyramid to a wide range of offerings, a far cry from the pyramid of a decade earlier.
