How calories translate in our plate?

Emilie Berthet Clairet - Nutrition
Sep 15, 2020
2 min read

We talk a lot about balance diet, with these numbers : Carbohydrates : 40 to 60%/ Proteins : 15 to 35% and Fat : 25 to 35 %. But how to translate it in our plate?

When we give these percentages, we talk about energy and not food proportions. Add to the confusion, most food contains two or even the three macronutrients. For example, meat contains proteins and fat, beans contains proteins and carbohydrates, peanuts contains the three fat, proteins and carbohydrates. While a nutritionist or a dietitian has the tools to easily calculate the part of these three macronutrients in your diets, it is harder for you to do it on a daily basis.

Aware of this concern and to help people adopt by themselves a healthy diets, government have promoted the food pyramids. It all started in Sueden in 1974, when the Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare developed the idea of "basic food" both cheap and nutritious as well as "supplemental foods" to help complete these basic food. At the base of the triangle were the basic foods, while going up to "supplement foods. Later this model was slightly modified to show practically the proportion of each foods should be eaten per day.

Many Health departments worldwide has developed their own food pyramid, according to the local food and habits, to help promote everywhere healthy diets for everyone. Some countries recently brought a new version of the food pyramid, where everything is illustrated in a plate, feeling that it could show better what exactly to put in your plate.