ABSTRACT
In the United States, Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for the Americans (USDA/USDHHS, 1990) and the Food Guide Pyramid (USDA, 1992) recommended that the daily diet include 6-11 servings of the cereal group (bread, rice cereals, and pasta); 3-5 servings of vegetables; 2-4 servings of fruits; 2-3 servings of milk, cheese, and yoghurt; 2-3 servings of the meat group (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts); and sparing use of fats, oils and sugars. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the United States proposed New Four Food Groups, recommending a healthy diet to be based on grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits (Barnard, 1993). This plan suggested reducing the intake of total fat to about 10% of total energy while avoiding saturated fats from both animal and plant origin and cholesterol.
