Remember the old food pyramid? You know, the one suggesting 11 daily servings of breads and cereals? The food guide that conveniently was created by the US Department of Agriculture (oooh, how I love a good conspiracy)? Well, by now people are hip to the fact that the old pyramid wasn't exactly structurally sound. Among its most obvious flaws were its failure to separate good (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) fats and bad (saturated and trans) fats. In addition, it failed to stress the importance of lean sources of protein to ensure a healthy diet.

Most recently, Danish scientists (scientists from Denmark, not Danish pastries who work in laboratories) reported their findings from a 5-year study on the effects of eating lean protein sources, such as steak, fish, and chicken. After reviewing the health of over 42,000 participants in the study, the researchers found that those who consumed the most animal protein experienced the least increase in waist circumference over the 5-year span.

Because high-protein foods typically take longer to digest than do carb-loaded foods, they take longer to digest -- boosting your metabolism in the process. In addition, because high-protein foods take longer to process, you feel full for a longer period of time, making unhealthy snacking less common.

This is probably why the Department of Agriculture went back to the proverbial drawing board and came up with some some ideas for structural renovations. The end result was the New Food Pyramid -- or, as the Dept. of Agriculture is calling it, My Pyramid. This time around they are making the diets very customizable, with a One Size Does Not Fit All tag line. Probably a wise move, considering that when the old food pyramid was torn down it was almost replaced by a steakhouse.