Problems With The Food Pyramid.
Why the USDA Is Not The Place to Get Your Nutrition Advice
Section by section the food pyramid is filled with nutritional problems. Different food industry lobbies have too much input on what is included in the USDA food pyramid.
Lets start from the bottom.
Grains and breads.
The food pyramid only recommends that half of your grains should be whole grains. However, all your grains should be whole grains. The pyramid also recommends too much grains and breads. Six to ten serving is quite high. Three to five servings would be adequate for most people. Also, white flour should be at the top of the pyramid with the junk foods.
Fruits and vegetables
This food group should sit at the bottom of the pyramid in place of grains and breads.
Fruits and vegetables should be eaten with every meal and snack. Most people can eat as many fruits and vegetables as they like and maintain a healthy weight. Starchy vegetables, like potatoes, should be included in grains and breads and they are not.
Meats or Protein
Meat is emphasized as a protein source, while beans, soy and other proteins are only mentioned as a substitute for meat as a protein source. This implies that meat is a superior protein source to others.
Milk and dairy
Milk and dairy is absolutely the most unnecessary group on the pyramid. Milk really could merge with the meat group as a viable protein source.
The milk lobby in America is huge. “Got milk?” is a campaign making us believe that dairy is necessity in the American diet. It really is not. There are plenty of alternative sources for most of the nutrients that milk provides, without the added fat or processing. The food pyramid really does not explore alternatives to milk.
Fats and sweets
Fats should have their own category under “sweets” or the junk food section of the pyramid. The fats section should emphasis healthy fats that everyone should be eating everyday.
The updated My Pyramid is a slight improvement on the older version.
With all that is wrong with the pyramid, some of the more recent changes are definitely a step in the right direction.
The new USDA pyramid is called My Pyramid. It is more personalized. The website offers a lot more information than older versions of the USDA pyramid.
My Pyramid also stresses exercise. This is very important for proper nutrition.
Sample menus, food tracker print outs and tips are provided. This can make eating closer to the My Pyramid guidelines a little easier.
Are their better food pyramids to follow?
There are other pyramids that are much better than the USDA food pyramid.
The Mayo Clinic Weight Loss Food Pyramid addresses many of the problems with the USDA Pyramid.
Two major differences from the USDA Pyramid is that fruits and vegetables are at the bottom of the pyramid, and oils and fats are separate from sweets.
The Harvard School of Public Health also addresses some of the fundamental flaws of the USDA Pyramid the their Healthy Eating Pyramid. One of the most interesting changes in this pyramid is that plant oils are half of the near bottom part of the pyramid shared with grains. This is not to say they condone a high fat diet but, Harvard is stressing the importance of the right fats and the fact that fat calories makes up about thirty percent of a healthy diet. The inclusion on exercise and maintaining a healthy weight are very important aspects of nutrition and are stressed in the Healthy Eating Pyramid by putting these as the base.
