Vegetarian Food Pyramid Guide
In designing a new food guide for vegetarians, we aimed to
achieve the following goals:
To establish a guide that would meet the needs of people following different types of vegetarian diets;
To help vegetarians choose diets that would meet the most recent recommendations established
by the Institute of Medicine;
To include guidelines that focus on specific nutrients of par-ticular interest in vegetarian diets, as
discussed in the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and Dietitians of Canada’s joint position on vegetarian diets in this issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association;
To include a wide variety of foods that are consumed by vegetarians;
To increase awareness about the availability of calcium from nondairy foods. In addition, we strived to meet the challenge spelled out in the 1981 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education by then US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nutritionist Jean Pennington for an “instrument which converts the pro-fessional’s scientific knowledge of food composition and nutrient requirements for health into a practical plan for food selection by those without training in nutrition”;
Challenges in designing such a guide exist regardless of dietary pattern. Individual food preferences, habits, and choices within food groups will all impact diet quality. Al-though no food guide is completely reliable, a food guide can maximize the chances that consumers will choose healthful diets. The inclusion of “Eight Tips for Meal Planning” (Fig-ure 1) provides additional help to vegetarians in planning healthful diets.
achieve the following goals:
To establish a guide that would meet the needs of people following different types of vegetarian diets;
To help vegetarians choose diets that would meet the most recent recommendations established
by the Institute of Medicine;
To include guidelines that focus on specific nutrients of par-ticular interest in vegetarian diets, as
discussed in the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and Dietitians of Canada’s joint position on vegetarian diets in this issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association;
To include a wide variety of foods that are consumed by vegetarians;
To increase awareness about the availability of calcium from nondairy foods. In addition, we strived to meet the challenge spelled out in the 1981 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education by then US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nutritionist Jean Pennington for an “instrument which converts the pro-fessional’s scientific knowledge of food composition and nutrient requirements for health into a practical plan for food selection by those without training in nutrition”;
Challenges in designing such a guide exist regardless of dietary pattern. Individual food preferences, habits, and choices within food groups will all impact diet quality. Al-though no food guide is completely reliable, a food guide can maximize the chances that consumers will choose healthful diets. The inclusion of “Eight Tips for Meal Planning” (Fig-ure 1) provides additional help to vegetarians in planning healthful diets.
FOOD GROUPS
The food guide principle that has been in use in North America since 1916 is based on an approach that classifies foods into groups based on similar nutrient content. We have adhered to this principle, with some modification. In the vegetarian food guide, calcium needs are met through choices from several food groups.
In keeping with familiar and widely used approaches to food guide presentation in North America, we have designed our guide in the forms of both a pyramid and a rainbow; the latter is the graphic used in Canada. Both guides use the same food groupings, specify the same number of servings, and can be used interchangeably.
Foods are grouped as follows:
Grains:
At the base of the pyramid and in the widest arc of the rainbow, these foods form the foundation of the diet.
Grains provide energy, complex carbohydrates,fiber, iron,and B-vitamins. Whole grains are an important source of zinc and other minerals. Vegetarians should choose whole grains often, but enriched refined grains can play a role in vegetar-ian diets and may be especially valuable for children.
Vegetables have been grouped sep-arately from fruits to encourage vegetarians to choose a va-riety of both types of food rather than to focus on one or the other for most choices. A higher number of servings of veg-etables is specified because of the greater nutrient density and phytochemical content of vegetables compared with fruits.
This group includes foods that are good sources of protein, B-vitamins, and many trace minerals. It includes all legumes, including soy products such as soy milk and tofu, as well as nuts, seeds, nut and seed butters, eggs, and meat analogs. In a departure from most existing food guides, we have placed dairy foods in this group as well. This groups dairy products with other foods that offer similar amounts of protein per serving. It makes dairy an available but optional choice for vegetarians, while ensuring that protein needs will be met whether or not dairy foods are included in the diet. Categorizing dairy foods with other protein sources also meets the goal of emphasiz-ing the availability of calcium from all of the food groups. Most of the foods in this group provide iron, which is well absorbed when a source of vitamin C is consumed with the meal. Dairy foods are the exception here, and those vegetarians who consume frequent servings of dairy foods should be advised to ensure that they are including adequate sources of iron in their meals.
Vegetarians and others who do not eat fish require small amounts of plant sources of n-3 fats. In addition, re-search suggests that moderate intake of certain healthful plant fats may reduce risk for cardiovascular disease, may improve nutrient intake, and may even aid in weight control. Ideally, most of the fat in vegetarian diets should come from fat-rich whole plant foods such as nuts, seeds, and avocado. To ensure an optimal fat intake and to support a practical approach to meal planning, we have specified a minimum of two servings of fats per day. Figure 1 indicates that nuts or seeds may be used in place of these fats and also directs vegetarians toward choosing the most healthful fats.
Adults should choose a minimum of eight servings of calcium-rich foods daily. Each serving also counts toward choices from one of the other food groups in the guide. For example, 1 cup of certain cooked leafy green vegetables counts as a serving from the calcium-rich foods group and as 2 servings from the vegetable group. Placement of the calcium food group adjacent to each of the other food groups allows this concept to be presented in a clear visual way. It also emphasizes the fact that calcium needs are met by choosing a variety of foods from across the food groups. Diets based on the minimum specified servings from each of the food groups provide approximately 1,400 to 1,500 calories per day, which may be an inadequate energy intake for many vegetarians. Because the numbers of servings in the food guide are minimum recommendations, consumers can meet higher energy needs by choosing more servings from any of the food groups. Regardless of energy needs, most food choices should come from these groups, with only moderate servings of sweets and alcohol at most.
Grains provide energy, complex carbohydrates,fiber, iron,and B-vitamins. Whole grains are an important source of zinc and other minerals. Vegetarians should choose whole grains often, but enriched refined grains can play a role in vegetar-ian diets and may be especially valuable for children.
Vegetables and fruits:
Vegetables have been grouped sep-arately from fruits to encourage vegetarians to choose a va-riety of both types of food rather than to focus on one or the other for most choices. A higher number of servings of veg-etables is specified because of the greater nutrient density and phytochemical content of vegetables compared with fruits.
Legumes, nuts, and other protein-rich foods:
This group includes foods that are good sources of protein, B-vitamins, and many trace minerals. It includes all legumes, including soy products such as soy milk and tofu, as well as nuts, seeds, nut and seed butters, eggs, and meat analogs. In a departure from most existing food guides, we have placed dairy foods in this group as well. This groups dairy products with other foods that offer similar amounts of protein per serving. It makes dairy an available but optional choice for vegetarians, while ensuring that protein needs will be met whether or not dairy foods are included in the diet. Categorizing dairy foods with other protein sources also meets the goal of emphasiz-ing the availability of calcium from all of the food groups. Most of the foods in this group provide iron, which is well absorbed when a source of vitamin C is consumed with the meal. Dairy foods are the exception here, and those vegetarians who consume frequent servings of dairy foods should be advised to ensure that they are including adequate sources of iron in their meals.
Fats:
Vegetarians and others who do not eat fish require small amounts of plant sources of n-3 fats. In addition, re-search suggests that moderate intake of certain healthful plant fats may reduce risk for cardiovascular disease, may improve nutrient intake, and may even aid in weight control. Ideally, most of the fat in vegetarian diets should come from fat-rich whole plant foods such as nuts, seeds, and avocado. To ensure an optimal fat intake and to support a practical approach to meal planning, we have specified a minimum of two servings of fats per day. Figure 1 indicates that nuts or seeds may be used in place of these fats and also directs vegetarians toward choosing the most healthful fats.
Calcium-rich foods:
Adults should choose a minimum of eight servings of calcium-rich foods daily. Each serving also counts toward choices from one of the other food groups in the guide. For example, 1 cup of certain cooked leafy green vegetables counts as a serving from the calcium-rich foods group and as 2 servings from the vegetable group. Placement of the calcium food group adjacent to each of the other food groups allows this concept to be presented in a clear visual way. It also emphasizes the fact that calcium needs are met by choosing a variety of foods from across the food groups. Diets based on the minimum specified servings from each of the food groups provide approximately 1,400 to 1,500 calories per day, which may be an inadequate energy intake for many vegetarians. Because the numbers of servings in the food guide are minimum recommendations, consumers can meet higher energy needs by choosing more servings from any of the food groups. Regardless of energy needs, most food choices should come from these groups, with only moderate servings of sweets and alcohol at most.
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