What is the Plato del Bien Comer (Mexican food plate)?

The Plato del Bien Comer ("the good-eating plate") is Mexico's official dietary guideline, created by the Secretaría de Salud and set out in NOM-043-SSA2-2012. It's a plate divided into three food groups (Vegetables & Fruits, Cereals, and Legumes & Animal-Origin Foods) that shows how to combine them at every meal for a balanced diet. It's often searched as "plato del buen comer," a common variant of the same name.

What are the three food groups of the Plato del Bien Comer?

Three: (1) Vegetables & Fruits, which should fill the largest part of the plate; (2) Cereals such as tortilla, whole-grain bread, rice and oats, the day's energy; and (3) Legumes & Animal-Origin Foods (beans, lentils, egg, chicken, fish), which combine (for example, corn with beans) to form complete proteins. Plain water and healthy fats accompany the plate.

What is the Jarra del Buen Beber?

The Jarra del Buen Beber ("the good-drinking pitcher") is the Plato del Bien Comer's companion guide. It ranks beverages into six levels by how much you should drink them: plain drinking water sits at the top (the best choice), and sodas and sugary drinks at the bottom (limit or avoid). Together the plate and the pitcher form Mexico's food-and-drink recommendations.

Who created the Plato del Bien Comer and when was it updated?

It was created by Mexico's Secretaría de Salud. It first appeared in NOM-043-SSA2-2005, published in January 2006, and NOM-043-SSA2-2012 sets it out today. Its recommendations were expanded by the 2023 Guías Alimentarias Saludables y Sostenibles para la Población Mexicana, published by the Secretaría de Salud with SADER, INSP and UNICEF, which reinforced whole foods, plain water, and reading the NOM-051 front-of-package warning seals.

Plato del Bien Comer Explained, Plus a Free Calculator

Mexico's official food guide, the Plato del Bien Comer (often searched as plato del buen comer), explained: the three food groups of NOM-043, SMAE portion equivalents, the Jarra del Buen Beber, and a free personalized calculator.

What is the Plato del Buen Comer?

The Plato del Buen Comer is officially called the Plato del Bien Comer. It is Mexico's official food guide. NOM-043-SSA2-2012, from the Secretaría de Salud, sets it out, and the 2023 Guías Alimentarias expand it. It splits every meal across three groups: vegetables and fruits (50% of the plate), cereals (22%) and legumes with animal-origin foods (23%). The last 5% is healthy fats, and plain water sits at the center.

Most people search for it as "Buen Comer", but it is the same guide. It isn't a diet or a portion plan. It's a teaching picture for combining foods at every meal.

NOM-043 sets no portions by age, sex or activity. The Plato calculator turns your details into daily SMAE equivalents. Those are the portion units Mexican dietitians use to plan meals.

How to use the Plato del Bien Comer

Every meal gets all three groups, in the plate's proportions. For drinks, the Jarra del Buen Beber puts plain water first.

How to build each meal

Fill half the plate with vegetables and fruits. Split the rest between cereals (preferably whole-grain) and legumes or animal-origin foods. The point isn't to cut out groups but to balance them.

For example: eggs scrambled with tomato, onion and chile, with beans and tortillas; or lentil soup with rice and a piece of fruit. Plain water to drink.

The six traits of a correct diet

Complete: includes foods from all three groups at each meal
Balanced: nutrients are in the right proportions to each other
Safe (inocua): prepared hygienically and without excess
Sufficient: covers each person's energy and nutrient needs
Varied: includes different foods from each group across meals
Adequate: fits a person's age, sex, activity, culture, and resources

That is how NOM-043 defines a correct diet.

Less salt, sugar and fat

Use less salt, sugar and fat, and choose fresh food over packaged. On packaged food, the NOM-051 warning seals mark the products to avoid.

Where it comes from, and the 2023 update

Schools, health centers and nutrition campaigns across Mexico teach with the Plato del Bien Comer. The standard in force that sets it out is NOM-043-SSA2-2012, from the Secretaría de Salud.

The 2023 Guías Alimentarias, from the Secretaría de Salud with SADER, INSP and UNICEF, updated the plate and added ten recommendations.