What to Know About the New ‘Upside Down’ Food Pyramid

The Department of Agriculture has turned the familiar food pyramid upside down, significantly revising the dietary guidelines used by schools, federal nutrition programs, and millions of Americans. In fact, the old food pyramid had been phased out in the early 2000s in favor of a dinner plate illustration. But the triangular illustration of a balanced diet, with carbohydrate-heavy breads and grains at the base, tapering to meats, dairy products, and saturated fats at the top, lingered in the public consciousness. The new illustration, released on Jan. 7, more or less inverts the structure, reversing the proportion of foods to be included in a healthy meal plan....