The Healthy Living Pyramid

The Healthy Living Pyramid (HLP) was developed to provide a simple guide to planning the types of foods we should eat and in what proportions. The pyramid represents food from the core food groups only. That is, it shows meat, fish, chicken, eggs, nuts, bread, cereals, vegetables, legumes, fruit, milk, etc. We all know though that at meal times, we don’t eat these core food groups alone, we combine several of them together. For example, we mix meat with vegetables to make a stew or casserole, eggs with milk and sugar to make custard or flour with oil, cheese, vegetables and meat to make a pizza. While the pyramid can’t possibly show all the different combinations, mixing foods, and adding herbs and spices to create flavours we enjoy, will help us to eat the food variety that we need, while keeping to the proportions outlined in the Pyramid.

The Healthy Living Pyramid encourages variety, minimum fat, adequate fibre, limited salt and adequate water to be balanced with physical activity. The ‘Move more' layer at the base of the Pyramid shows moving legs that add the concept of physical activity as being an essential link with eating.

The Layers of the Pyramid – from the bottom up.

Move more

Every time we move we use up some of the kilojoules (or calories) that are in the food that we eat. The kilojoules that we do not use up in energy will be stored and changed to fat. ‘Move more’ reminds us that we need to balance the energy (kilojoules) that we take in with the energy we use. We eat daily so we need to be active daily.

Eat most

This base layer of foods includes only plant foods: vegetables, fruits, nuts, dried peas, beans and lentils, breads and cereals (preferably wholegrain). These foods contain many different nutrients and should make up most of the food that we eat. Eating a variety of these foods each day should provide good amounts of energy from carbohydrate, as well as protein, minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre. In other words these foods are nutrient dense (each food contains a lot of nutrients for each kilojoule that it provides).

Alongside the base is the symbol for water to encourage water consumption. 6-8 glasses each day is the recommendation. Smaller children need about 4-5 glasses of water.

Eat moderately

Foods in the middle of the Pyramid include fish, lean meat, eggs, chicken (no skin), milk, cheese and yoghurt. Eating a serving of meat, fish or eggs and three of dairy foods each day will provide protein, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and B vitamins.

Eat in small amounts

Sugars and fats are in this layer. These foods should be limited because they lack a good supply of the nutrients needed for growth, good health and quick energy. While small amounts of fats, oils and sugar are acceptable, larger amounts of these foods will cause an inadequately varied food intake. When choosing fats and oils it is better to choose the ones that have low levels of saturated fat and better levels of omega -3 fats. The Pyramid also suggests that salt should not be added to foods. By choosing a wide variety of foods the Healthy Living Pyramid (HLP) way we should consume all the nutrients and other food compounds that we need for good health. When we serve a meal the ‘Eat most’ foods should take up most of the plate, the ‘Eat moderately’ foods should take up a third or less of the plate, and there should be very little of the ‘Eat in small amounts’ foods. The HLP does not state how many serves we should have or the size of the serves but it does give an idea about the balance of foods we need to choose for good health. In order to maintain body weight, food eaten (energy in) needs to be balanced with physical activity (energy out).