In 2013 Nutrition Australia updated their Dietary Guidelines. And following on from that, in 2015 the Healthy Food Pyramid changed as well.

What does this mean? Well, for several generations of Aussies brought up on Weet-Bix and Tim Tams, it means a lot.

The old pyramid 

The original healthy eating pyramid was introduced in 1980 and was an instant success. Suddenly school kids around the nation could understand at a glance what foods you needed to eat as part of a healthy diet.

At the very bottom of the pyramid was the Eat Most layer. It was packed with colourful fruits and veggies, alongside the wholegrain goodness of bread and cereals. No surprises there.

The middle section of the pyramid illustrated food to eat in moderation, including lean meat, dairy, nuts, eggs and fish.

And finally, the tip of the pyramid showed what foods to eat just a little bit of – such as sugar, butter and oil.

But in the 2015 revision, everything has changed.

The new pyramid

On the bottom of the 2015 Healthy Eating Pyramid you’ll find loads of colourful fruits, vegetables and legumes. And that’s it.

For the first time, cereals, breads and grains have been bumped up to the middle layers. Whole grains such as brown rice, oats and quinoa, and wholegrain varieties of pasta, crackers and cereal get the tick over over highly processed and refined carbs like white bread and pasta. For a nation brought up on toast, Weet Bix and pasta, this doesn’t look good.

But there’s more. 

At the top of the 2015 Healthy Eating Pyramid, you’ll find healthy fats – such as plant-based oils like olive oil and nuts and seed oil. These are great for brain function, so its important that we eat a little every day.

Meanwhile, added sugar has been jettisoned completely. That’s right. Sugar is now sitting on the outer, next to salt.  

It’s a game changer. No longer can we add a spoon of sugar in our cup of tea or sprinkle it on a bowl of cereal, without feeling a pang of guilt.

But is it really that surprising?

Lucinda Hancock from Nutrition Australia suggests that the average Australian "is getting more than a third of their daily energy intake from junk foods." This includes foods with added sugar, such as chocolate, cakes and soft drinks. Is this the reason we have such high rates of obesity and diabetes in Australia? 

While Nutrition Australia actually say that "small amounts of added sugar can be consumed as part of a healthy diet", the decision to take sugar off the Healthy Eating Pyramid is a wake up call for us to start treating sugar like an occasional treat, and not a staple of our diet.

And that’s got to be a good thing.   

With media saturating us with new food fads and diets every week, the Healthy Eating Pyramid gives us a simple and realistic guide to eating well.

Which means, it’s time to head to the fresh fruit grocer and stock up on lots of yummy fruits, veggies and healthy grains.

If you’re concerned about your diet, perhaps you should have a chat with an expert. You can find a list of local dieticians here.