The USDA’s dietary guidelines are a bit like the Batman movies. There was the version with Christian Bale, and the ones with Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton, and of course, Ben Affleck. Depending on who you ask, one version is better than the rest, though some will say none of those versions were that great.
Since the 1940s, the USDA guidelines have also gone through their own versions. There was the “Basic 7” wheel poster, “The Basic 4” (guess 3 of the basics weren’t so basic), and the one we all know well, the “Food Guide Pyramid” (and its 2005 version “MyPyramid.” The USDA’s latest version is called “MyPlate.”
If you ask the US government, they’d no doubt say all their versions were pretty good, while myself and others would say none are that …show more content…
And nearly one out of every four deaths in this country is from heart disease. [2]
The rates went up because we all replaced fat with low-fat junk food high in carbohydrates. And our own government endorsed these kinds of foods when it unveiled the food pyramid in 1992. (Photo: AP/USDA)
Foods like bread, cereal, rice and pasta formed the base of the pyramid, suggesting that carbs should make up the majority of one’s diet. But they got it wrong, really wrong, and the rates of disease in this country are more than enough proof. It’s time all of us, including the government, change the way we think about food.
The government believes it has done this and believes it is addressing the current public health crisis by overhauling their dietary guidelines. Gone is the familiar food pyramid most of us grew up on and in its place is the “new and improved” food plate.
The Good, the Bad, and the Really …show more content…
Here’s the thing, people need to stop eating processed junk food and fast foods in this country. That’s where the real epidemic lies. To focus so heavily on what specific nutrients we should be eating is missing the point. There needs to be more education about how much of the food in this country is processed. How much sodium and sugar and advanced glycation end results are in there.
Can We Please Get a Grip on Grains?
It would take someone to actually go to the government website, and a click a few clicks to actually get a message that explains half of the grains you should be eating should be whole grains, not refined. Now how many people are going to do that?
The truth is, people hear the word grains, or read the word on a poster, and to them that means bread and pasta. This just isn’t good enough. The amount of refined carbohydrates recommended by the government is still too many. This is the “food group” that is causing inflammation and diseases like diabetes. Grains and simple carbohydrates are what got us into this health epidemic in the first place.
I have created my own food plate, which is a much more sensible approach to eating for
Since the 1940s, the USDA guidelines have also gone through their own versions. There was the “Basic 7” wheel poster, “The Basic 4” (guess 3 of the basics weren’t so basic), and the one we all know well, the “Food Guide Pyramid” (and its 2005 version “MyPyramid.” The USDA’s latest version is called “MyPlate.”
If you ask the US government, they’d no doubt say all their versions were pretty good, while myself and others would say none are that …show more content…
And nearly one out of every four deaths in this country is from heart disease. [2]
The rates went up because we all replaced fat with low-fat junk food high in carbohydrates. And our own government endorsed these kinds of foods when it unveiled the food pyramid in 1992. (Photo: AP/USDA)
Foods like bread, cereal, rice and pasta formed the base of the pyramid, suggesting that carbs should make up the majority of one’s diet. But they got it wrong, really wrong, and the rates of disease in this country are more than enough proof. It’s time all of us, including the government, change the way we think about food.
The government believes it has done this and believes it is addressing the current public health crisis by overhauling their dietary guidelines. Gone is the familiar food pyramid most of us grew up on and in its place is the “new and improved” food plate.
The Good, the Bad, and the Really …show more content…
Here’s the thing, people need to stop eating processed junk food and fast foods in this country. That’s where the real epidemic lies. To focus so heavily on what specific nutrients we should be eating is missing the point. There needs to be more education about how much of the food in this country is processed. How much sodium and sugar and advanced glycation end results are in there.
Can We Please Get a Grip on Grains?
It would take someone to actually go to the government website, and a click a few clicks to actually get a message that explains half of the grains you should be eating should be whole grains, not refined. Now how many people are going to do that?
The truth is, people hear the word grains, or read the word on a poster, and to them that means bread and pasta. This just isn’t good enough. The amount of refined carbohydrates recommended by the government is still too many. This is the “food group” that is causing inflammation and diseases like diabetes. Grains and simple carbohydrates are what got us into this health epidemic in the first place.
I have created my own food plate, which is a much more sensible approach to eating for