The new Choose My Plate which is replacing the food pyramid, is a bit of an improvement, but does not really go far enough. Part of the reason that people are experiencing so many health issues is due to the quality of their food. This important fact is basically overlooked.
The Good
Eat more veggies.
Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
The Not-so Good
Low-fat dairy
It is best to eat food in its most natural form.
Making half your grains whole
All grains should be in their whole form. Refined grains strip the body of minerals, imbalance blood sugar, and don't have the fiber content of their whole counterparts. There is no mention of gluten free grains, even though there is an explosion of celiac disease and gluten intolerance in the population.
Quality of ingredients
Avoid factory farmed meat because it's full of chemicals and hormones.
Watch sodium intake, but no mention of using real salt vs. the highly refined version.
No mention of organic fruits and veggies. The conventional varieties are full of pesticides, which are not beneficial for the human body.
The fact that there is widespread use of food dyes, additives, flavorings, high fructose corn syrup, and refined sugar is not mentioned.
Details
It says to balance portions and avoid oversized meals, but it doesn't offer any explanation as to what that might look like.
There is no mention of what kinds of fats are beneficial and which ones are harmful. A balance of quality saturated and unsaturated fat is needed for optimal health.
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Comments
October 21, 2011
You are completely ignoring the purpose of the "My Plate." We need to offer general health guidelines that all people can follow. If you bombard them with too much information and make it more complicated than it needs to be, you are going to defeat the purpose. Let's focus on steps, here. If you can even get the general population to eat SOME veggies and whole grains, you are making huge progress!! Once people are eating more healthy foods, THEN you can start talking to them about incorporating more whole grains, more organic foods, more natural foods, etc. But let's pry the soft drinks and Big Macs out of their hands, first.