For years, you and I have been led to believe that good health is attained by practicing the lifestyle advocated in the age old food pyramid. The food pyramid was and is considered the holy bible of nutritionists, dietitians and doctors.
The food pyramid was the foundation of health. But what if the very foundation of health itself was built on a false foundation? Obesity is a major epidemic in our times. People are becoming overweight to the point of obese. Is the food pyramid a contributor to this epidemic?
“The famous food pyramid is wrong and hurts both waistlines and health”, claims Dr. Walter Willett, in his new book Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating.
Dr. Willett is chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and he heads some of the most important long-term studies of how nutrition affects health.
According to Dr. Willet, the pyramid which was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1992, has vested interest of the agricultural industry.
Dr. Willett further writes in his book, “The thing to keep in mind about the USDA food pyramid is that it comes from the [U.S.] Department of Agriculture, the agency responsible for promoting American agriculture, not from agencies established to monitor and protect our health.” What business does the USDA have in coming up with guidelines for a healthy lifestyle, I wonder?
Dr. Willet very aptly said, “And there’s the root of the problem, what’s good for some agricultural interests isn’t necessarily good for the people who eat their products”.
The food pyramid is promoted widely across the United States and the rest of the world. I remember growing up with it in school and I still see it today on food labels, hospitals and schools.
In an article in USA Today, Dr Willet said, “The food pyramid is outdated and doesn’t reflect the latest food research”.
Dr. Willet is the best authority on credible food research as he was involved in two of the largest epidemiological studies ever carried out, The Nurses’ Health Study (238,000 nursses) and the Male Health Professionals Study. These studies tracked the lifestyles and eating habits of these large populations and the correlations with health.
One investigation of women in the Nurses’ Health Study found that those who followed the USDA food pyramid were no healthier than those who didn’t. That and Willett’s other research along with hundreds of other nutrition studies by various experts have made him question some of the conventional diet wisdom that originates from the USDA food pyramid.
Dr.Willet’s pyramid is known as the Harvard food pyramid. The Harvard food pyramid advocates weight management and exercise as its base. There is no mention of exercise in the USDA food pyramid.
The biggest difference is perhaps how bread/cereal/rice and pasta is advocated in both pyramids. The USDA food pyramid advocates these food as the base of one’s diet. The Harvard food pyramid advocates eating these food sparingly.
Another notable difference is that the Harvard food pyramid advocates taking a multivitamin. Taking a multivitamin nowadays is no more optional but mandatory. I shall leave this topic of discussion for another day.
You can imagine why the USDA is promoting the USDA food pyramid so strongly. The entire agricultural industry was built and is sustained by the philosophy that simple carbohydrates should form the staple of a healthy diet. 3 decades after the USDA food pyramid was introduced, the United States and the rest of the world is seeing an obesity epidemic that is spiraling out of control.
It makes me wonder why the governments of the world aren’t advocating the healthier Harvard Food Pyramid. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could start ingraining the modern Harvard Food pyramid into our young school children. Children should be thought that the base is not rice/pasta/cereal or bread. The base of a healthy lifestyle is exercise and weight control.
Tags: Harvard Food Pyramid, Harvard medical School, Dr Walter Willet, food pyramid, USDA food pyramid, Harvard School of Public Health, Male Health Professionals Study, Obesity, weight loss
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I have believed this all along! Thank you for putting it out there! In short, if we as a nation were not sick or obese, there would be very little, if any, need for medications. The pharmaceutical industry would be bankrupt. Might that be the answer to the reason we are led to believe that the food pyramid is all that and a bag of chips?
The food industry in this country has a vested interest in making us overweight. They can only make money if we overeat. It’s shameful that the government gives in to these interest in creating guidance such as the food pyramid.
As I’ve written frequently on my blog (http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/), the corporate food industry in this country has convinced us that overeating is OK, and that missing even a single meal is unhealthy.
The problem with the original food guide pyramid was that the bottom part allowed way to many carbohydrates and people literally were eating way to many of them. I tell my clients to eat more proteins as they fill you up, they are brain food and can help build muscle. Eating large amounts of pasta, bread, rice etc is not a good and balanced way to eat. I personally take in more protein and stay filled most of the day from this way of eating. I keep the carbos low and eat only what I need most of the time.
debra mazda
nice post,
thanks
I agree, that is why it has been changed. In fact the entire health system is slow to recognize that the food we eat is not the healthiest for us. Especially with all the additives, our food is a major reason for such a high degree of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and more. yet the FDA and Agriculture dept does little to protect us from the main stream garbage that most Americans eat.
nice post,
thanks
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
Hi to all,,,actually let me chime in on my thoughts about food, the food industry and the govt.
I have said for years that most people have no idea what they are eating anymore and just grab whatever most times and the food industry is in a battle with itself to get people to buy their product, the better it tastes and more money spent on marketing the more people will buy it.
. I tell people to look at the label if it has more than 4-5 ingredients and you cannot even pronounce the word, stay away from it.
We have gotten so far away from fresh fruits and veggies and eat junk that we are becoming fattter and fatter daily. While I think the govt needs to regulate better, the consumer needs to do thier part by getting more educated and staying or at least limiting most packaged and boxed foods. On the other hand, obesity can be slowed down by not only eating better but by getting off of the couch and exercising. We have become lazy, lazy, lazy.
debra mazda
Great outlook but I disagree that we should be eating whole grains/natural starches in every meals,they should be consumed early in the day or depending on the activity level for the day.True that we should be active all the time but vegetables should be next after the exercise then followed by lean protein and healthy fats then fruits then whole grains.I don’t tolerate the low carb diet stuff but we should be aware of the proper timing of consumption of natural starch.And last but not the least we should start adding the amount of rest and sleep in the food pyramid too because we all know that an average Joe only gets 6hrs of sleep a day if he’s lucky.Uncle Sam turned us into a work freak and junk addict
Thanks Beth. Its sad but you are absolutely right! The mega industries feed on each other.
Thanks for your comment. The governments of the world are influenced by the strong pharmaceutical and food companies. That’s a fact of current times. But the internet age may change everything with information so easily available.
Thanks for the feedback Debra. The problem as you so rightly pointed out is the overload of simple carbs. How are you able to convince your clients to increase protein intake? I have always seen this as a challenge and takes time.
You are right. There is vested interest even with the authorities that are being paid with our tax money to look after our interests! How is one to convince the masses?
Great thoughts Jean! I agree with you 100% on carb tapering. Unfortunately the masses may not be ready for this. For people who live on carbs/sugar and starch, tapering carbs may be hard to do as people have their biggest meals for dinner. The smallest meal is breakfast. This is the ultimate recipe for piling on weight, don’t you think? Also agree with you on the sleep bit. That’s something that’s completely ignored these days.
While I think your proposal sounds good, just getting people to eat protein, fruits and veggies is a start,
I lost 140 pounds over 20 years ago and have kept it off but changing my diet and exercising, which has the key to my success. I did nothing else but cut portion first and then figured out what worked for me, and by the way I totally practice what I preach, more protein, fruits and veggies and less junk and simple carbs,,some even eat to many complex ones. I feel and look better today than ever. There is no scientific long term proof to any food combining that I am aware of. Eating smart is the name of the game for me.
debra
Try telling the masses that! Everyone is looking for a quick fix! It takes a long time for someone to finally accept that exercise and a sensible diet is the secret. There is no magic pill or diet that can deliver long term results. I am not impresses with people who have lost weight! What impresses me is someone like you who has lost weight and has managed to keep it off!
I used to be overweight too,big gut with love handles but after conducting so many research,trial and errors,I found out that eating sensibly,not a diet is the best way of keeping a lean and healthy physique.Now I can see my abs and been maintaining it for a couple of years all year round with bodyfat ranging between 4-6%.Soon I will be taking the NASM test for personal trainers,then I will go back to school to be a Registered dietician(just can’t afford it right now).That’s another thing,people are always thinking of what they can lose,they should think about what to gain in return which is lean muscles(it constantly burn fats and energy at rest)that’s the best way of maintaining a long term weight management along with a good nutritional program.If anyone has a question,feel free to contact me at iwanttoseemyabs@yahoo.com or at facebook/jeanpaulomanalastas
don’t forget the fats too,healthy fats should be 30% of your daily caloric intake.Healthy fats will actually trigger the hormone called cck from the liver signalling your brain that you are full.
According to the survey you can live an everyday life spending just $3-4 a day eating empty calorie foods while eating natural/organic whole foods can cost you as much as $20 a day!I am not trying to be a communist or something but I am just telling my points of view why people should be blamed too aside from our ignorance,misguidance and wrong beliefs,we tend to prioritize other things such as useless and expensive ab machine(which they never used accumulating dust in the garage) than our health and well being when it comes to food.
You are right but try telling someone to increase fat intake and see the response you will get! Some people could be getting their fair share of fats but not in terms of good fats but actually trans fats.
It’s a part of marketing strategies used by food manufacturers to deceive people that lowfat diets are actually better for you which is against the law of our bodies because we need some dietary fats to manufacture testosterone.besides dietary fat doesn’t contribute to bodyfat,it’s the overall calories that we consume.For every pound of fat we have,there’s merely 3,500 calories in it.
Recently i read that 45% of European agricultural products contains residues of pesticide…