General Nutrition Recommendations

Eating healthy foods, combined with regular physical activity, can reduce your risks of high blood pressure, obesity and heart attack later in life. (Regular physical activity is any number of activities that are done throughout the day for a total of 30 minutes.) Recommendations for Vegan or Vegetarian Diets>>

Standard Serving Sizes:

Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group	1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal	1 Slice of bread	½ cup of cooked rice or pasta	½ cup of cooked cereal
Vegetable Group	½ cup of chopped raw or cooked vegetables	1 cup of leafy raw vegetables
Fruit Group	1 piece of fruit or melon wedge	¾ cup 100% fruit juice	½ cup of canned fruit in lite syrup	¼ cup of dried fruit
Milk, Yogurt & Cheese Group	1 cup of milk or yogurt	1 ½ ounces of natural cheese	2 ounces of processed cheese
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, & Nut Group	2 ½ to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry or fish		Count ½ cup of cooked beans, or 1 egg, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter as 1 ounce of lean meat
Fats & Sweets	LIMIT CALORIES FROM THESE especially if you need to lose weight

Recommended Number of Servings per Day:
(Women & some children, teen girls, active teen boys & older adults, most men & active men)

	Women & Some Older Adults	Children, teen girls, active women & most men	Teen boys and active men
*Calorie Level**	about 1,600	about 2,200	about 2,800
Bread group	5	7	10
Vegetable group	3-4	4-5	5-6
Fruit group	3-4	4-5	5-6
Milk group	2-3** (low or no fat)	2-3** (low or no fat)	2-3** (low or no fat)
Meat group (Choose lean meats)	2 for a total of 5 ounces	2 for a total of 6 ounces	3 for a total of 7 ounces

* These are the calorie levels if you choose low-fat lean foods from the 5 major food groups and use foods from the fats and sweets group sparingly

** Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, teenagers, and young adults to age 24 need 3 servings.

Fats and sweets
These are foods such as salad dressings, cream, butter, margarine, sugars, soft drinks, candies, and sweet desserts. Alcoholic beverages are also part of this group. These foods provide calories but few vitamins and minerals. Most people should go easy on foods from this group, or avoid them altogether.

Some fat or sugars are in the other food groups. Remember that some foods in each groups can be high in fat and added sugars. When choosing foods for a healthful diet, consider the fat and added sugars in your choices from all the food groups.

To learn more about how you can make these recommendations work for you, visit mypyramid.gov.

Do you know how many fruits and vegetables you need? Take the quiz.

Find out how to include more fruits and vegetables - in all forms - into your family's meals every day. Get a list of places to find lower-cost fresh fruits and vegetables.

Learn about portion distortion.