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After many years of lobbying by health groups and doctors, the USDA has finally caught up with health guidelines suggested by all current major studies in health, and updated the food pyramid, which is not even a pyramid anymore. The new suggestion is called "My Plate":

The current reccomendations for a healthy diet are:

Balancing Calories
● Enjoy your food, but eat less.
● Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase
● Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
● Make at least half your grains whole grains.
● Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce
● Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
● Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Exercise

There are many recommendations about the importance of exercise, and it suggests that to maintain our health we should get a very minimum of 2.5 hours of exercise a week, and ideally, an hour a day. For health benefits, physical activity should be moderate or vigorous intensity, so a stroll around your neighborhood is not enough!

Moderate physical activities include:
Walking briskly (about 3 ½ miles per hour). Enough to break out a sweat and affect breathing.
Bicycling (less than 10 miles per hour)
General gardening (raking, trimming shrubs)
Dancing
Golf (walking and carrying clubs)
Water aerobics
Canoeing
Tennis (doubles)

Vigorous physical activities include:
Running/jogging (5 miles per hour)
Walking very fast (4 ½ miles per hour)
Bicycling (more than 10 miles per hour)
Heavy yard work, such as chopping wood
Swimming (freestyle laps)
Aerobics
Basketball (competitive)
Tennis (singles)

Though very basic, these recommendations should help those who are searching for a balance in how they eat and exercise. Let's hope they become more than a picture on a nutrition book.