Sugar and fats are out, proteins are in as USDA unveils simpler healthy eating symbol
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comWhat do you think of the government's new healthy eating symbol?
Seeded on Thu Jun 2, 2011 12:28 PM EDT (msnbc.com)
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The current version of the food pyramids were a useless mess of special interest influences. Multiple versions depending on who/what/when/where/why and all tilted in multiple directions due to this farm lobby and this meat producer lobby and that sugary food lobby....
The new 'plate' is something us diabetics have been working with for a long time. The diabetic version is: 1/2 of the plate non-starchy vegetable based material, 1/4 of it starchy foods/veg and 1/4 of the plate with the meal's protein (notice the lack of sugar foods and any specific type of food mentioned? That's intentional). Stick to that and you pretty much automatically eat properly. Don't need the 'pyramid' to teach me squat.
If the 'plate' comes out in a similar fashion, it will work just fine for Joe everybody.
It might also be helpful if it was suggested that the "plate" only be about 8 inches in diameter. People have very distorted ideas about proper serving sizes.
???How many hundreds of Billions of Dollars is it going to cost to replace the old symbols with new symbols
Well, it cost $2 million just for the web design, done with borrowed money.
How many millions has the government spent over the years in useless research and promotions of all their new and improved food guidelines, pyramids, etc. only to revert to the original guideline of many years ago which was “The four food groups”. At great expense, the bureaucracy has come full circle.
If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding! How can youhave any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!
Leave us kids alone.
:) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's just another brick in the Walmart...
to me, this makes no sense. It basically says eat veggies, proteins, etc without giving any idea as to what proportion, what should be the foundation
Basically useless
The article pointed out that proportions are based on dietary needs. Some people need more protein than others, for example, and would therefore adjust their portions accordingly. I hope this clarifies it's usefulness.
not really
Not only is it pretty obvious that different people need varying proportions of food groups, how does the chart convey that information?
It doesnt
Sugarboogar62, I think your choice of name alone, automaticlly disqualifies you for any nutritional advices :) lol
Back to the topic I can cleary see bothsides of the argument. The Icon does simplfy the pyrimad scheme especially for those with less of a nutritional background and its concept to to give a visual and it did that.
On the otherside its also very vague. Perhaps to meet both needs they can add the calorie count you should eat in a day for each portion. After all that is how 85% of the population keep track of the diet.
Anyways theres hunger and obesity lets find a balance people!
I didn't think the Food Pyramid was complicated. I learned it in the 70s and it made perfect sense.
Then my kids came home a few years ago with some freaking insanely complicated perversion of a food pyramid that was totally different from what I had learned!
Maybe if they just went back to the original Food Pyramid. . . which was a useful and simple tool before somebody jacked it up.
As a practicing clinician working to educate my clients on healthy eating, portion control, and following the Guidelines for Americans the plate is fabulous. I believe it addresses the issue of healthy eating head on. I say kudos to the government on this one.
I won't speculate on your age, but I'm guessing you're somewhat younger. I'd be very curious what your thoughts would be on the original food pyramid from about 40 years ago versus the overly complicated mess that they've been teaching in schools lately. I'm no clinician or dietician, but the old pyramid got the food group and portion thing across to me pretty darn clearly.
I teach a 6th grade Exploring Foods class, this is great. The earlier the better for good eating habits. If this was around when I was growing up maybe I wouldn't have to always watch my weight. Don't forget exercise, take a walk after dinner with your family, a friend, your dog, or just by yourself. You never know who you might meet.
Whoops, they goofed again. No space on the plate reserved for any pesticides, hormones, preservatives, mercury, pollution and we all know they are in grains, vegetables, fruit, meat, fish.
Always wash fruits and vegetables before eating. Animals not only "relieves" itself around our food supply, but so do migrant workers that can't make it to a porta-potty (if one's available). ewwwwwwwww
I still think much contemporary research would suggest making the grains area a little smaller (and further increasing the vegetables area).
So the ole pymirad was too comples. So many fat arses walking around I would say so. Need somerhing that the really dumb dumb folks can understand.
Maybe the Government should tell us what to eat and when?
No more difficult than spelling pyramid, something or complex correctly.
First of all, the food pyramid was conceived in the 1960s - so it's been around a lot longer than "since 1992". In the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture responded to what they thought was an increase in Americans getting heart disease with the food guide pyramid and Dietary Guidelines for Americans (a pamphlet which was updated every five years). In fact, just like anything relating to the government today, the Department of Agriculture had no idea whether or not more Americans were getting heart disease ... all they knew is that someone had come up with a way to classify why Americans were dying and anything that was even remotely suspicious of having to do with heart failure - even old age - was getting tossed into the new classification.
Second, give me a break, please! The last time the government tinkered with the food pyramid, they actually said that people should be eating canned fruits and vegetables instead of buying and eating them fresh, as canned goods were "cleaner" and "safer" from having pesticides on them. Does this sound like the people in this part of the government have ANY idea what they're talking about?
Bottom line? The government - ALL PARTS OF IT - is run, is managed by POLITICIANS. They had no clue then and Michelle Obama blithering all over the world about everyone being overweight notwithstanding, they certainly have no clue now. She needs to pipe down and the government needs to stay OUT of the kitchens of Americans. A little common sense goes a long way ... and lately, in this country, it HAS to, because there's hardly any of it left in Washington!
You do make one valid point: "The government is definitely managed by politicians." SMH
It doesn't matter what the Government recommends. Not many Americans really look at the recommendations for guidance anyway. Plus, if you have to look to the Government to learn how to eat healthily you are already in trouble. The Government makes recommendations to eat a certain way and then they take special interest money from the food lobbies and set the system up to make junk food cheap and readily available. We subsidize corn growers so they can sell corn for cheaper than it cost to grow it. This cheap corn allows us to have cheap HFCS which is in all these junk foods they tell us to avoid. The very foods the Government says to avoid are subsidized and prices are kept artificially low by the Government. Get the Government out of the food business and let Americans decide for themselves what they need to eat and let the market work.
yep. i don't even listen fully to my nutritionist. they think all these simple carb, processed foods are okay. they aren't. whole foods and you'll be just fine!
Sandy,
You need a new nutritionist. The one I go to emphasizes the reduction of processed, simple carbs. She said at least 80% of your carbs should be from vegetables, whole grains, and fruit.
Post took two years to design that? Really? MAYBE the pyramid took that long. But seriously...it's a plate...and a glass of milk. How much development did it need?
More than that...if this is supposed to be more attractive...it just feels like a chart you pin on the refrigerator so your kids have a clear and present model of what their dinner is supposed to look like. It would be more efficient just said in words. It's not complication that's making people not eat right. It's just plain laziness and/or lack of money...
Post could have spent two years on something else. I'm sure.
not only that, it just says the pictures aren't proportionate. change it according to your needs. umm....duh! the food pyramid they came out with a few years ago is the best. you could even plan your own meals. now what do we do?
DUH!! Should we draw you a picture? Personally, I eat off a plate, not a pyramid. From some of the comments on here my guess is some people uses a trough to eat from. :)
I eat off the hood of a HMMWV.
thank you for your service. retired army here. we used to heat our meals up on the engine block while traveling... then eat when we got to where we were going. just have foil ready! LOL
The food pyramid has been around a lot longer than 1992! I learned it in the late 70's in nutrition class.
A friend of mine used to claim that chocolate is "4 of the 5 food groups" and I believe him.
As a vegetarian, peanut butter is a food group for me :)
it IS a food group...under protein.
chocolate is a fruit. didn't you know?
It DOES come from a bean....
The government has no clue and neither do most medical professionals. Ever see how many overweight people are at the gym never loosing any weight? Read Gary Taubes book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and find the real answer to correct diet.
I like McDonalds new Obama McMeal--just order want you want and the guy behind you pays for it!
Better than McGOP's: rich customers come in, order whatever they want for free, and then leave with the cashier's paycheck.
I like the McLib meal, where you sneak in through the back door, spread your scat and fluids around, then set the whole place on fire so nobody else can have a chance to eat there ever again.
OK I get it, but I am a Family and Consumer Science teacher and I just spent a pile of money from my budget over the past 2 years updating my materials to accommodate the last new "MyPyramid". Not to mention rewriting my curriculum. Who is going to pay for all the new materials I will have to buy to again rewrite and re-do my curriculum to accommadate this new idea? Please keep teachers in minds when you make these changes. It costs us money too!
see below reply.
Seriously?!!! I am a Family and Consumer Science Teacher. I have spent so much money updating my curriculum and materials in the last few years to the "new" MyPyramid pyramid. Here's what I want to know........who is going to help me pay for all the new materials I will have to purchase to teach this "new" pyramid, or should I say, Plate. Please consider teachers when you change things. It costs us money too. Is this plate for all meals? or is there a different plate for breakfast, and lunch? I hope the materials for this are FREE.
ignore them. teach what's healthy not what's "in."
Here's an idea....Want people to eat healthier, make the healthy food taste better. Most of the so-called healthy food is utterly disgusting. Yuck!!!!
that's because you are looking at "packaged" foods. healthy foods don't come in boxes. try whole oats, veggies and fruit from the produce department instead of from a can, make your own granola. i used to eat those nasty tasting things thinking "they are better for me" but they aren't. eating whole foods is best, and they taste good!
Healthy foods aren't disgusting at all. The Panang Curry I made with chicken, green pepper, onion and bamboo shoots for dinner certainly wasn't. The swiss chard I plan on sauteing in coconut oil and drizzling with lemon juice either for tomorrow's lunch isn't either. I'll probably toss some sardines on the side for that. And maybe the dinner after that will be grilled pork chops and veggies with some butter. All of it satisfying. I don't shop in the center of the grocery store anymore and nothing I buy comes in a box.
All of it's home cooked, and I know exactly what goes into my meals. People like you have become addicted to the high sugar and salt contents of all that gross packaged food. Learn to cook too, none of my meals take longer then half an hour to make, so you should have plenty of time.
But I don't personally agree with the government guidelines here. I've cut down on my carbs dramatically by getting rid of grains entirely. I focus mainly on lots of veggies, protein and healthy fats (not veggie oils people, natural animal fats and oils!) for energy. Never felt better.
sounds good
watch out for that coconut oil though...its pure saturated fat. Basically a liquid heart attack
Late response, but...it's not. That is to say, that I believe that saturated fat has gotten a bad rap, and that by itself, is not a huge threat. It's been found that in diets focused on reducing inflammation (removing grains and sugar from the diet is a good start) improves cholesterol ratios. Trans-fats are a bigger culprit in causing heart disease.
Saturated fat is good, really. It's all natural. It's one of the most un-processed fats out there and occurs naturally in clean foods. I'll never understand why it's somehow worse than the disgusting processed veggie oils that are supposed to be healthier. Coconut oil in particular is special because it is mostly medium-chain fatty acids, and your body burns it for fuel remarkably well. In meals that are primarily carbs, such as a salad, adding some fat to the meal from oils helps satisfy and keep energy up until the next meal. Personally, in a day, about 70% of my calories come from fat, mostly saturated in particular.
By heavily reducing my carb intake from grains and sugars, and upping my good fats and protein intake I've already effortlessly lost 15 lbs in the last month or so. Instead of struggling to burn all the sugar that ends up in the blood from the crazy amount of carbs we're encouraged to eat, my body burns fat more efficiently. Food cravings disappear as my blood sugar stabilizes and I have a constant level of energy as it slowly burns through the fat, and then later switches to the stores. Once your body is healthy, it'll feel safe to let that extra stored fat go.
Man - how am I going to get a big old Tbone steak on there?
lol...piece by piece.
your body HAS to have good fats like olive oil, avacado, almonds... no fats is unrealistic AND unhealthy!
Very true.
The key is MODERATION.
I seriously doubt people are going to stop using oils to prepare their food just because it doesn't mention them explicitly. And I think nuts would go under protein. It's a guideline for a meal, not for which foods to include and exclude or how to prepare your food.
This is good
I think our government never ceases to amaze me in the foolish ways they find to spend our money. That took two years? WOW
You are missing the point...when all you do is look at dollars and cents don't you think maybe your life just passes by without meaning? The point of the change from pyramid to plate was to make the information more easily understood.
HOLY S..T! They have figured out how to make Americans eat healthy!
Obviously nobody in the country understood what was healthy because the food pyramid was just too complicated.
Now, finally, we have a diagram so stupid-simple we will have no choice but to give up our unhealthy habits. At long last, ignorance has been defeated.
(or maybe, just maybe, everybody already knows what is healthy and unhealthy, and that they should be exercising, and just doesn't care. But hey, it took them two years to draw this pretty little picture, let's let them have their moment.)
Looks like a simple way to teach healthy eating.
All I have to do is use a giant plate to fit my 20 oz. t-bone ........