Application Guide

The American Food Guide Pyramid was developed by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture in 1992. It was later streamlined to reflect a worldwide per-
spective. Food pyramids have also been developed based on other traditional
diets around the world, such as Asian, Latin American, and Mediterranean.
The Third International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition added a Vegetar-
ian Food Guide Pyramid. All these pyramids place whole grain bread and
pasta, beans, nuts, and tubers at the wide base for optimum health and sensi-
ble eating patterns. The pyramids recommend eating six to eleven servings of
grain products per day—as many of them as possible unrefined, unprocessed,
and unhulled whole grains—in cereals, pastas, and breads.
Starchy grains make us feel satisfied and well fed. As com-
plex carbohydrates, grains are ready fuel for the body and are chemically
built of chains of glucose, a necessary energy source for the brain, nervous
system, and muscle functions. The breads made from whole grains meld well
with the newly labeled “super foods”: olive oil, fresh herbs, lemons, garlic,
and yogurt—foods that contribute to optimum health.
Once the domain of a minority of health-conscious folks,
many people are now becoming more interested in using a wide variety of
whole-grain flours, and super market selections are growing to accommodate
them. Baking your own bread is the perfect way to incorporate good nutri-
tion into your diet naturally.
257