The new health food pyramid is 'the only way you need to eat'

The food pyramid that so many of us grew up with has had its first makeover in 15 years, with junk food completely removed and grains taken out of the "eat most" bottom section.

While Nutrition Australia's iconic food pyramid used to be separated into three tiers, that included grains, fruit and vegies at the bottom, meat, dairy and protein in the middle and "discretionary" (read: junk) foods at the top, it's now separated into five sections in a bid to help Aussies get a clearer idea of what a healthy diet should look like.

"The foundation is the same as the original healthy eating pyramid – to have a plant-based diet with 70 percent of your diet made up of fruit vegetables and grains," Lucinda Hancock, accredited nutritionist and executive officer of Nutrition Australia, told ninemsn COACH.

"What we have focused on now is increasing wholegrains and not having any junk food – we just don't need it. That's really what's causing obesity in Australia."

Many Australians are opting for Paleo, fasting and detox diets, but Hancock says the best guarantee for health is to follow the Australian Dietary Guidelines, which are "evidence based".

"We hope to cut through a lot of the misleading information about fad diets," she says.

The new guidelines, which were released in 2013, come in a 53-page document, so Hancock hopes this visual diagram that sums up the ultimate food rules will help everyone from those with poor literary skills to those with busy lives.