BALANCE

Many of us grew up with mom or dad serving us dinners composed of starch, meat, vegetable (usually green) and perhaps a fruit. . . all of it washed down with a glass of milk. This, in most of Western Civilization at least, is the gold standard by which we were all taught to live out a healthy life.

That particular balance of three or four food types on a single plate (or spread to one or more side dishes or consecutive courses) is followed with some regularity in meals served by restaurants around the world.

The United States Department of Agriculture's "Food Guide Pyramid," a widely recognized nutrition education tool, translates nutritional recommendations into the kinds and amounts of food to eat each day.

As an alternative to the USDA's flawed pyramid, faculty members in the Harvard School of Public Health built the Healthy Eating Pyramid. It resembles the USDA's in shape only. The Healthy Eating Pyramid takes into consideration, and puts into perspective, the wealth of research conducted during the last ten years that has reshaped the definition of healthy eating.

Bottom line: it takes a diverse and varied diet - dare we call it a "balanced" diet? - to fuel our bodies. Now, the specifics of what's really needed to achieve that balance are going to vary perhaps a great deal from body to body. And, as the French say in another context, "Vive la difference!"