The Ernährungspyramide explained: the BZfE food-pyramid model, the DGE Ernährungskreis and 2024 recommendations, the D-A-CH energy reference values, plus a free portion calculator. Independent tool, not the BZfE or DGE.
The Ernährungspyramide, published by Germany's BZfE, turns the country's dietary advice into 22 countable “building blocks” for a day — measured with your own hand, no calorie counting. It was revised in September 2024 to match the DGE's new recommendations.
The Ernährungspyramide, published by the Bundeszentrum für Ernährung (BZfE), arranges eight food groups across six tiers: what you should eat plenty of forms the wide base, what to keep sparing the narrow tip. Together they make 22 building blocks — each one a portion, all of them a full day.
In the original a traffic-light colours the tiers — green for plenty, yellow for moderate, red for sparing. This page explains the model independently, in its own visual language; we never reproduce the copyrighted BZfE graphic.
Instead of grams or calories, the pyramid measures in hand portions: a handful of fruit or vegetables, a palm-sized piece of meat or fish, a tablespoon of oil, a small handful of nuts. That makes the portions workable without scales or arithmetic.
Someone larger, who needs more energy, usually has larger hands too — so the amount scales itself. The figures are guide values for healthy adults aged 18 to 65.
| Until 2024 | Since September 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Milk and dairy | 3 portions a day | 2 portions a day |
| Fruit and vegetables | counted separately | one combined block |
| Nuts | no block of their own | their own block |
| Oils and fats | red tier (sparingly) | yellow tier (moderate) |
| Protein block | meat, fish and egg | legumes, meat, fish and egg |
On 25 September 2024 the BZfE aligned the pyramid with the DGE's new recommendations. The count stayed at 22 building blocks, but several groups were reorganised.
One theme runs through the update: more plant protein, a little less from animals, and sustainability as an explicit consideration.
The pyramid doesn't stand alone. It renders the recommendations of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (DGE) as countable portions. The same advice appears as the DGE Ernährungskreis, a circle of seven groups, and as the 2024 DGE recommendations, phrased as eleven statements.
In short: the circle shows the proportion, the eleven statements the wording, and the pyramid the portions for a day — three pictures of the same diet.
Germany wasn't alone. All four German-speaking models were renewed in 2024 — the DGE recommendations in March, the Austrian food pyramid in summer, and the Swiss food pyramid in September. Much competing content still describes the older versions.
All move in the same direction: legumes promoted, dairy trimmed, sustainability made explicit. Their shared scientific basis is the D-A-CH reference values of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The models show portions for an average adult — but not your personal energy needs. That's where the portion calculator comes in: it estimates your needs from the D-A-CH reference values and shows the matching portions for your day.
How the calculator works is set out openly on the energy requirements and methodology page. MyPlate.food is an independent, free project that rebuilt the tools of the US MyPlate website and documents dietary guidelines worldwide — not the BZfE, the DGE or any government body.