Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 11 hrs ago
Scientists create an international food pyramid based on shared nutrition advice
An international team created a food pyramid by comparing official nutrition guidance from several countries and US scientific advisers.
The guide is for generally healthy people aged two and older, and the team reviewed existing research rather than running a diet experiment.
Vegetables, fruit and whole grains form the largest part of the pyramid, alongside beans, nuts and soy as favored foods.
It recommends preferring unsaturated fats and limiting red and processed meat, added sugar and salt.
Animal foods are limited to about two daily servings, including dairy and a choice of fish, poultry, eggs or lean red meat; the guide puts red meat at about one weekly serving.
The researchers cite long-term studies in which people who ate little or no red meat had the lowest diabetes risk, while greater intake tended to go with higher risk.
The pyramid also weighs environmental effects, and it uses the glycemic index to distinguish how foods affect blood sugar.
Its portions show proportions based on an average adult diet of about 2,400 calories a day, not fixed servings.
An international team of scientists has created a food pyramid that combines shared nutrition advice from several countries.
The guide emphasizes vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, nuts and soy, and advises limiting red and processed meat, added sugar and salt.
It is intended for generally healthy people aged two and older and is based on existing research and official guidelines, not a new diet experiment.
The team used food-intake ranges that account for human and planetary health to set the pyramid’s proportions.
Readers can choose either an upright or upside-down version of the pyramid, which present the same advice.
- Who
- A team led by Karen Della Corte, a nutrition scientist at Brigham Young University, developed the guide with 22 colleagues.
- What
- They created an international food pyramid drawing together shared nutrition advice.
- When
- The article was published on 2026-10-27.
- Where
- The team included researchers from North America, Europe and Australia. It compared guidance from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Australia and the Nordic countries.
- Why
- The team aimed to show agreement across countries about healthy eating and to account for human and planetary health.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The team reviewed existing research and official food guidance from several countries and regions.
Earth.com published an article about the new international food pyramid.
- Team size
- Karen Della Corte and 22 colleagues
- Guidance compared
- Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Australia and the Nordic countries
- Target group
- Generally healthy people aged two and older
- Evidence base
- Nearly 300 published sources
- Adult calorie reference
- About 2,400 calories daily
- Red meat in the guide
- About 15 grams a day, or roughly one weekly serving
What people are saying
Despite what people often hear, there’s actually substantial agreement in nutrition science about the foundations of healthy eating
Our diet has to be not only for our own health but also for the health of our planet