Vegetarian Food Pyramid

Since 1992, Americans have been bombarded with the guidelines set out in the USDA's food guide pyramid. If you are vegetarian, it's likely that the pyramid's recommendations seem unhealthy or even grotesque. Since when would a vegetarian food pyramid include 2-3 servings of meat in that vegetarian's daily diet?

Fortunately, it is not difficult to plan a balanced, healthy vegetarian diet with the aid of more realistic advice. Because the health needs of vegetarians differ from the needs of average Americans, diet planning requires alternative considerations.

Fats and oils
To reconstruct the food guide pyramid from the top, let's start, well, at the top. While the original pyramid suggests only sparing use of fats and oils, this pyramid has been constructed under the assumption that its target audience is already consuming large amounts of animal fat. For vegetarians, eating larger quantities of plant-based oils is not only acceptable, but also critical in maintaining good health.

In recent times, omega-3 fatty acids, found primarily in fish, have been implicated for their near-miraculous ability to combat everything from heart disease to depression and learning disabilities. The findings have been strong enough that, in 2004, the Food and Drug Administration said that omega-3 fatty acids can combat the risk of coronary heart disease, so store shelves are now lined with products fortified with these helpful acids. Not surprisingly, most Americans - both vegetarian and non-vegetarian - are deficient in omega-3 fats, which may be a cause of many of our nation's health problems.

A vegetarian food guide pyramid therefore requires emphasis on oils rich in omega-3 unsaturated fats. Depending on your own needs, that can mean anywhere from 2 or 3 tablespoons to a half-cup a day of plant-based omega-3 oils, such as hemp oil, flax oil and rapeseed oil. Craving chicken-fried tofu? Go for it.

Protein
Moving down the previous food guide pyramid, we find the most troublesome area for vegetarians - the suggestion that you take in 2-3 servings of dairy and 2-3 servings of meat or eggs every day. The good news is that the recommendation was a bit of a miscommunication.

According to Liz Neporent and Suzanna Schloesberg, authors of "Fitness for Dummies," these food pyramid guidelines are not recommendations but maximum limits. The USDA's failure to adequately communicate this may be partially responsible for an epidemic of misunderstanding regarding the idea that meat and dairy are healthy foods.

It is true that protein is an important part of any diet, but it is equally true that protein deficiency is so rare - even among vegetarians - as to be nearly nonexistent in America. In a landmark article published in the March 1995 issue of Vegetarian Times, nutritionist and writer Debra Blake Weisenthal completely debunks the myth that vegetarians are at high risk of protein deficiency.

Still, some vegetarians will want to include high-protein, plant-based foods in their own daily food pyramid, both because nuts and beans have other health benefits, and because many enjoy the taste and texture of meat-like, protein-rich foods. Almonds, walnuts and pecans provide a high content of omega-3 fatty acids along with fiber and minerals, and beans, peas and lentils are all tasty, vitamin-rich sources of roughage. Tofu, tempeh, seitan and other meat analogues can also be an enjoyable, flavorful and healthy part of a vegetarian food pyramid.

While egg and dairy are not necessary as protein sources, either, they do both provide calcium and a range of important vitamins and minerals. The healthiness of egg and dairy are debated, even within the vegetarian community, but a vegetarian food pyramid should include either egg, dairy or vegan milk substitutes to maintain a sufficient profile of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B-12, all of which may be difficult to obtain from vegetable sources.

In addition to animal-sourced foods, your vegetarian food pyramid may include fortified "milks" made from soy, rice, almond, hazelnut or hemp, depending on your own tastes and preferences. Milk, egg or vegan substitutes for either can be consumed in up to 4 servings per day for a complete profile of essential vitamins and minerals.

Fruits and vegetables
The next tier, moving down the traditional food pyramid, is the wide block composed of fruits and vegetables. If there is one truth in maintaining a food guide pyramid that is balanced and completely healthy, it is this: You can never have too many fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables both contain the most essential building blocks of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Packed with enzymes, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, fresh plant-based foods are among the most essential sources of nutrition in a food pyramid, for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Most Americans eat far too few fruits and vegetables, according to the Centers for Disease Control and the American Heart Association. Numerous well-reported studies conducted by major universities have found that fruit-and-vegetable-based diets prevent heart disease, gum disease, birth defects, vision problems and cancer. And it doesn't stop there.

A vegan or vegetarian food pyramid has a specific need for additional dietary calcium, especially if soy milk or other dairy substitutes are not consumed. If you do not routinely eat or drink dairy products, soy or substitute dairy products, your food pyramid should account for plenty of high-calcium vegetables like broccoli, kale and spinach.

Any balanced food pyramid should consider fruits and vegetables as a primary, critical source of nutrition. Aim for at least five servings each of fruits and vegetables every day: the more, the better. If this is impossible for you, consider taking a supplement containing antioxidants and minerals.

Grains
Although the original food guide pyramid used grains as its wide base, with a recommendation of a whopping 6-11 servings per day, this guideline is now considered to be somewhat out-of-date. This recommendation accounted for more grains than should probably be consumed, and the new MyPyramid campaign focuses less on grain-based diets, probably because of the spread of the diabetes epidemic following the release of the original food guide pyramid.

The original pyramid also failed to note the very important difference between whole and refined grains. When grains are processed, they are stripped of their most important nutrients and cause sharp fluctuations in blood glucose, similarly to refined sugar.

A healthy food pyramid, vegetarian or otherwise, emphasizes that at least half of grains in any diet should be whole and unrefined. This leaves the most essential nutrients, vitamins, amino acids and - perhaps most importantly - fiber in the grain product itself. Prefer whole-grain breads and rices over refined white flours and rices, which have little nutritional value.

While the traditional food guide pyramid emphasizes importance of meat and other animal products, it can be easily modified to suit the needs of vegetarians and vegans.