I had a patient ask about the food pyramid and It brought back to memory something that I had forgotten about because it has been so long. When the government does something, it really presents the information well. It uses colors and size and shapes that really get your attention and get the information across very well. Unfortunately the information that the pyramid is based on is not very good (in my opinion and that of many experts).
Let’s Start At The Bottom
where we find that the foundation is based on 6-11 servings of brad cereal rice pasta. Right away we find that it is no wonder that the health and obesity rates in our country have gone up so much since the introduction of these ideas into our culture. Looking at what we now know about starch and what it will do to your chances of getting diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, we see all the negative effects of this basis for what the government said was a healthy diet.
Veggie & Fruit Groups
Apparently we only need 2 servings of veggies and 2 of fruits. I’ll agree with the fruit, but the veggie should have been at the base of the pyramid. Then on top of that we find we needed 3 servings of milk yogurt and cheese. – Hello yogurt for a snack (and all the sugar that comes with it) and lets squeeze meat fish beans eggs and nuts on the same level.
There was actually a booklet that went along with it that explained things. No one provided anyone one of those.
For example:
A bagel. I think it was common for people to consider a bagel on serving of grain but actually according to the information in the booklet, that single bagel would be worth 6-10 servings. So basically a full day’s worth of crabs. So really the actual pyramid wasn’t as bad as it seemed, it’s just that no one know how to use it.
Basically, throw out the whole thing from your memory. The info wasn’t that good. The majority of your eating should be from veggies each day. Have some healthy protein (and there are lots of good ways to do that) and then for a snack, a few (and I mean a few) nuts. Finally for some sweet, eat some berries. There it is, healthy eating in a paragraph.
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