Pyramid Thoughts

Well, my head is reeling, so many food pyramids! The lastest 2005 update is here at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). [Not posted due to copyright]. (Obviously, there is other great content at the HSPH.) Evidently, the USDA food pyramid has been under fire for some time, and the California Pyramid recently posted was like the first salvo.

A schematic of the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid from mindfully.org:

1. Red meat and butter USE SPARINGLY
2. White rice, white bread, potatoes, pasta and sweets USE SPARINGLY
3. Dairy/calcium supplement 1-2 servings
4. Fish, poultry and eggs 0-2 servings
5. Nuts and legumes 1-3 servings
6. Vegetables IN ABUNDANCE
7. Fruit 2-3 servings
8. Whole-grain foods at MOST MEALS
9. Plant oils (olive, canola, soy, corn, sunflower, peanut) at MOST MEALS
10. Exercise and weight control
-Multiple vitamin for MOST people
-Alcohol in moderation (UNLESS CONTRAINDICATED)

WHOA! Knock your sox off or what? Exercise and weight control are the foundation of healthy eating? Look at the low fruit servings - I thought I was supposed to have twice the servings every day. Alcohol recommended? (Not to get too excited, moderation = one (1) drink a day. "Contraindication" is something like heart failure or sleep apnea which can be made worse by alcohol.) OK, the "Food Pyramids" article from HSPH is a great place to get started, and almost required reading.


The Harvard School has several bones to pick with the latest USDA Pyramid (at right):
1) the pyramid is so abstract as to lose meaning, 2) is unduly influenced by agribusiness commercial interests, 3) does not discourage refined starches (grains), 4) does not differentiate between red meat and other protein sources, and 5) over emphasizes consumption of dairy products.

I don't know if I'm unusual or what, but I suppose I haven't paid much attention to the food pyramid over the years, USDA's or Harvard's. But now that I am powerfully motivated to lose excess weight and improve my health, the food pyramid has become much more relevant, and has encouraged to me ask questions: exactly why are "refined starches" (white bread, white rice, white pasta) so bad; if plant oils are so important, how the heck do I get them into my diet given they are so high in calories and so low in the "fullness factor"; in fact, how well can I fit the foods I eat into the food pyramid at all? Will I have to change substantially what I eat?

I think these questions are important to answer if I expect to incorporate any heathful food pyramid into the Road to Reduction, and I intend to address each of these areas in upcoming entries.