What should your food pyramid look like? Is the low carb food pyramid an effective tool for weight-watchers?

The answer lies a great deal on your physical condition, and also on what your nutritionist/doctor will recommend.

The main purpose of the food pyramid is to guide people in making the right dietary decisions. While the basic food pyramid lists recommended items by food groups (with foods at the pyramid’s base suggested to be eaten the most, and those higher up the pyramid to be consumed in moderation), revisions and new guidelines have sprung in recent years.

Weight-watchers looking for a low carb food pyramid as reference point to jumpstart their journey to a slimmer, healthier figure may refer to the Okinawa Diet Plan by Dr. Bradley Wilcox and Craig Wilcox. It presents low-glycemic index good carbs along with beneficial proteins and  healthy fats. It can help people who are intent on sticking to their weight loss agenda because it is built by caloric density.  Foods with low caloric density will satiate people more, thereby lessening snacking or cravings for unhealthy food.  People who want to reduce their weight or simply want to stay healthy turn to caloric density, or the calories existing for every gram of food. Most fruits, like apple or banana, have a caloric density of .59 to .6. Healthy brown rice has a caloric density of 1.2, as against bacon, which is 5.56.

As far as the low carb food pyramid goes, dieters are advised to take much low-starch vegetables, beef, pork, eggs & poultry, fish, seafood, plus monounsaturated fats; use nuts, cheese, plain yogurt and polyunsaturated fats in moderation; eat berries, legumes, and low-glycemic fruits in small servings only; and to restrain intake of sweets, grains, starches, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice.