Food pyramids in sports nutrition

Food pyramids are pictorial representations of dietary goals that translate scientific reference data into easily understandable nutrition recommendations. ln general, there are two appioaches to designing food pyramids. ln the nutritive approach, food recommendations are calculated to fulfill dietary reference values for energy, macronutrients, and micronutrients. l Consequently, serving sizes for different food groups and corresponding numbers of servings are calculated to meet the energy and nutrient requirements of the target population, Most pictorial food guide systems follow this strategy.ln the second approach,the metabolic approach, eating guidelines are linked to the metabolic effect a particular food may exert on physiologic parameters. For example, the low glycemic index pyramid focuses on the effect of food on blood glucose.