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Every day, people are becoming more health conscious. Online articles, books, press releases, medical studies and news coverage all contribute to the awareness of nutrition and diet. This has visibly been reflected in the offerings of restaurants of all kinds. Even fast food establishments offer leaner, lower-calorie options for the more health conscious consumer. This means that if you are starting a restaurant, in order to stay competitive, you have to offer healthy choices as well. But how do you even know where to start? If you are not a health aficionado, you might need help. A great place to start is studying the food pyramid.

The food pyramid has changed over time. It used to be an actual pyramid with grains on the bottom, then fruits and vegetables, then beans, nuts, meat and eggs, next to dairy, then sugars, oils and other fats. Over time, it evolved to differentiate poultry, eggs and fish from red meat. It also differentiated refined sugars from natural sugars, which differentiated potatoes, pasta and white bread from whole wheat pastas and breads. It is an ever-changing process to identify what causes disease, weight gain and more importantly, what foods prevent these conditions and promote well being.

The pyramid remained for a time, but instead of pictures and blocks, it evolved to wedges depicting how, even within the same food groups, portions can vary depending on your activity level, but the proportions should always remain the same. These guidelines were developed to account for more variables. For instance, though you should always eat more "liquid fats" (vegetable oils) than you should eat solid fats (meat or dairy fats), those who are more physically active can have more of those solid fats than the less active, without becoming unhealthy. Still, proportionally, even the active need more healthy foods than fats.

The pyramid ceased to be when it was changed to a plate, very recently. It was changed to be more helpful in deciding the balance from meal to meal instead of the general balance the pyramid provided. It shows you how much space each group should take up at every meal, with fruits and vegetables taking up a little over half of the plate. The next largest is grain, then meat and a much smaller dairy portion that essentially represents a glass of milk.

The latest form is actually the most helpful to you as a restaurant planner. This is not too hard to understand, as restaurants serve single meals and you can use this to put together your meal offerings. Remember, these are just guidelines. You always have to take into account what combination will taste the best and sometimes, the most delicious dishes are not the healthiest. Not everything on the menu has to be the healthiest or most balanced, but you need to offer some healthy options for those who want it. Of course, while the food pyramid, or plate, is a great source of information for planning, you need to look at other sources too, such as a catering equipment supplier and where you are going to get the food you will serve. But the food pyramid is a good and important start to opening a restaurant.