This is a list of nutrition guides. A nutrition guide is a reference that provides nutrition advice for general health, typically by dividing foods into food groups and recommending servings of each group. Nutrition guides can be presented in written or visual form, and are commonly published by government agencies, health associations and university health departments.
Some countries also have nutrition facts labels which are not listed here; many of those reference specific target amounts for various nutrients.
Historical guides
Ancient Greece The Hippocratic Corpus of Ancient Greece contains one of the earliest known nutrition guides. It recommends a seasonal diet. For winter, it advises eating a heavy diet of bread and roasted meat and fish, while avoiding vegetables and restricting liquids to, if anything, strong wine. It then recommends a lighter summer diet of soft barley cake, vegetables, boiled meat, and large quantities of diluted wine. Gradual transitions between these two diets are advised in the intervening months.
Imperial China During the Tang dynasty, Chinese physician Sun Simiao is believed to have written the first nutrition guide in traditional Chinese medicine. In his book, Precious Prescriptions for Emergencies (), the chapter "Dietary Treatment" () contains sections describing the effects of eating fruits, vegetables, grains and animals.
First food pyramid Amid high food prices in 1972, Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare developed the idea of "basic foods" that were both cheap and nutritious, and "supplemental foods" that added nutrition missing from the basic foods. KF, a consumer co-op that worked with the Board, sought to illustrate these food groups. KF developed a food pyramid because it could depict basic foods as its base, and introduced the guide to the public in 1974 in their magazine, Vi. At the base were bread, cereals, potatoes, milk, cheese and margarine; above it was a large section of supplemental vegetables and fruit; and at the top was an apex of supplemental meat, fish and eggs. The pyramid competed with the National Board's "dietary circle," which KF saw as problematic for resembling a cake divided into seven slices, and for not indicating how much of each food should be eaten. While the Board distanced itself from the pyramid, KF continued to promote it, and food pyramids were developed in other Scandinavian countries, plus West Germany, Japan and Sri Lanka. The United States later developed its first food pyramid in 1992.
Today, both the Swedish government and KF have moved to the Plate Model.
Government guides
Australia The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care publishes The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, which features a wheel divided into five sections: approximately 40 percent bread, cereals, rice, pasta and noodles; 30 percent vegetables and legumes; 10 percent fruit; 10 percent milk, yogurt and cheese; and 10 percent lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and legumes. Below the wheel are reminders to drink plenty of water and eat fats and sweets occasionally or in small amounts. More specific recommendations are provided based on age, gender, life stage and activity level.
Austria The Austrian Federal Ministry of Health uses The Austrian Food Pyramid (), which is divided into 25 blocks, each block representing a daily serving from a food group. Starting at the base, there are six servings of non-alcoholic beverages (preferably low-energy drinks like water, tea, unsweetened fruit juice and vegetable juice); three servings of vegetables and legumes; two of fruit; four of cereals, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes (preferably whole grains); three of milk and dairy (two "white," like milk, yogurt or cream cheese, and one of yellow cheese); one of fats and oil (preferably olive or canola oil); three of meat, fish, sausage and eggs (preferably fish or lean meat); and three of fatty, sweet and salty foods (though not nutritionally recommended and to be consumed rarely).
Belgium The Voedingsdriehoek is a (mostly in Flanders) widely used tool for dietitians, health educators, schools, etc. to explain a balanced diet. The triangle is constructed as a pyramid with five different layers. The bottom layer is the largest in area, and so the most important; the top is narrow and represents small amounts of food, although it is an essential ingredient. The layers are (from top to bottom): Oil / fats; Protein: meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, meat substitutes; Fruits and vegetables; Starch or carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, etc.); Drinks. In 2005 a (rather symbolic) layer was added at the bottom: sports and exercise. This is not a food, but an important part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. The information services use the "active" food pyramid.
Brazil Brazil's Ministry of Health publishes the Food Guide (), which features a map of Brazil depicting each of Brazil's five regions as puzzle pieces representing a food group. However, Brazil's food recommendations differ from the map, and feature eight food groups: rice, bread, pasta, potato and cassavas (5 servings a day); vegetables and legumes (3 servings); fruits (3); milk, cheese and yogurt (3); beans (1); meat, fish and eggs (1); oils and fats (1); and sugars and sweets (no more than one).
Canada
Canada's Food Guide from Health Canada was updated and released in January 2019. It promotes eating a variety of healthy foods each day and filling half your plate with vegetables and fruits, and the other half with protein foods and whole grain foods. It promotes making water your drink of choice and encourages healthy eating habits such as cooking more often and enjoying meals with others. The 2019 Guide no longer classifies food into the four food groups from previous versions and it does away with recommended servings.Government of Canada. Canada's Food Guide. https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/ Retrieved 23 January 2019. The previous version had four food groups: vegetables and fruit (7 to 10 servings a day for adults, depending on biological sex), grain products (6 to 8), milk and alternatives (2), and meat and alternatives (2 to 3).
Canada developed its first nutrition guide in 1942 as part of its wartime nutrition program.
China China's Ministry of Health uses the Balanced Diet Pagoda (), which is divided into five stories ascending from largest to smallest. Cereals are at the large base; topped by vegetables and fruits; then fish, poultry, meat, eggs and other animal foods; followed by milk and soy foods; and topped with fats and oils in the small spire. Beside the pagoda are images representing water and exercise.
Denmark Denmark's Food Administration uses the Diet Compass () to depict its "Dietary 8" () guidelines, with an image on each compass point representing a guideline. Those guidelines are: "Eat 6 fruits and vegetables a day," "Eat fish and seafood several times a week," "Eat potatoes, rice or pasta and whole wheat bread every day," "Cut back on sugar," "Cut back on greasy foods," "Eat a varied diet and maintain a normal weight," "Quench your thirst with water," and, "Be physically active at least 30 minutes a day."
France France's National Institute for Prevention and Health Education has 25 separate food guides under the title The Food Guide For All (). Each guide is based on a consumer's personality, habits and lifestyle. There are guides for people who: are health-conscious, do not care about food, prepare family meals, are poor, eat at restaurants, skip meals, do not cook, have large appetites, are on diets, prefer certain foods, avoid various foods (including meat), are sedentary, are athletic, and more. Each guide features a "portrait" in the image of a happy face designed out of foods representing that consumer's type. The portraits are billed as nutrition recommendations, though they are more decorative than informative.
Germany Germany's state-funded Aid Information Service uses the Food Pyramid (), which divides a pyramid into 22 blocks, each block representing a hand-sized serving from a food group. Starting at the base, there are six blocks for beverages, three for vegetables, two for fruit, four for grains, three for dairy, one for meat and fish, one for oils, one for fats, and one for sweets and alcohol. Beverages, vegetables, fruit and grains are marked green for "free travel"; meat and dairy are marked yellow for "caution"; and oils, fats, sweets and alcohol are marked red for "brake lights". Aid also collaborated with the German Nutrition Society to create a 3D pyramid model.
India India's National Institute of Nutrition publishes the Dietary Guidelines for Indians, which, among other diagrams, includes the Food Pyramid. The pyramid has a base of beans and legumes to eat adequately, a second layer of vegetables and fruit to eat liberally, a third layer of meat, fish, eggs and oils to eat moderately, and an apex of fatty, salty and sugary foods to eat sparingly. Accompanying the pyramid is a recommendation of regular exercise and physical activity, as well as warnings against drinking alcohol and smoking.
Ireland The island of Ireland's Food Safety Promotion Board uses The Food Pyramid, which is divided into five levels: bread, cereals and potatoes at the large base (6 or more servings); then fruit and vegetables (5); followed by milk, cheese and yogurt (3); then meat, fish, eggs and alternatives (2); and finally fats, high fat/sugar snacks, foods and drinks at the apex (small amounts). At least 8 cups of water a day are also recommended.
Israel The Food Pyramid () from Israel's Ministry of Health is divided into six levels. At the wide base is water; followed by starches, including pasta, bread, corn and yams; then fruits and vegetables; then meat, fish, eggs and dairy; then fats and oils; and finally sugary foods at the small apex. Images around the pyramid represent exercise.
Italy The Italian Ministry of Health uses the Italian Food Pyramid (), which is divided into squares, triangles, trapezoids and rectangles that represent one, one-half, one-and-a-half, and two servings, respectively. Beginning from the base, the divisions are: fruit (2 servings), water (1), vegetables (2), bread (1.5), biscotti (0.5), potatoes (0.5), rice and pasta (1.5), meat (1), eggs (0.5), fish (0.5), legumes (0.5), cold cut meats (0.5), milk (0.5), dairy (0.5), oils and fats (1), sweets (0.5) and wine or beer (0.5). Along the edges of the pyramid are triangles representing physical activity. The pyramid is intended to represent the variety of foods eaten over an entire week, averaged into daily portions. Also provided is an alternative, more traditional pyramid for a single day, divided into six layers representing six food groups; as well as two additional pyramids for children.
Japan The Food Guide (), from Japan's Health and Agriculture ministries, is depicted as a spinning top with a wide upper layer tapering to a narrow bottom. At the large upper level is a staple meal of carbohydrates, including rice, bread and noodles (5 to 7 servings a day); followed below by a side dish of vegetables, potatoes, beans (except soybeans), mushrooms and seaweed (5 to 6); then a smaller main course of protein, including meat, fish, eggs and soy (3 to 5); and finally the narrow point, divided between dairy (2) and fruit (2). The top's handle is filled with "essential" water and tea, and running in circles around the handle is a figure representing moderate exercise. A small motion line beside the top represents sweet beverages in moderation.
Mexico