government replaces food pyramid

Doesn't give approximate ratios of what you should be eating or any idea of caloric intake.

Still it's better then the cartoon pyramind that tells you to eat 11 servings of bread everyday....
 
Why the heck would they do that =/ That's just bad
 
That's exactly what I thought about it. However I think they just realized that people don't read labels, so they don't know what a serving is anyway. If they lay it out like you would for a toddler basicly ' this is what your plate should look like', there is a bigger chance of success. People are still going to use plates the size of hubcaps though.
 
great. they change the graphics, but keep their outdated suggestions largely untouched. the fact that the dept. of agriculture once again publishes a recommendation for such a high-carb, low-fat diet for americans to follow, in spite of all the long-term studies that argue otherwise, leads me to believe big pharma truly does want to profit from our food-related ills and woes. not only is that plate icon a disaster for one's health, it also ignores the bigger picture - it is impossible to sustain agriculture and vegetarianism ecologically. i'm also willing to bet that the small portion of "protein" on the plate most likely comes from primarily non-animal sources. finally, where is the fat in this diet?

it's interesting to note that the categories for grains and fruits/vegetables were interchanged in terms of importance. the same change made its way some time ago to canada's food health guide. it may be marginally better, but it's so far from the ideal that it has become something of a joke. fruits and vegetables - at least the tasty ones that most people select in grocery stores - are high-carb, high-starch, and low in many essential fats and proteins, and ultimately rank only a few notches above junk food.
 
vomit.jpg
 
(1) From a behavioral perspective, these things don't affect people's behavior at all.

(2) Agree with Kadark that it's criminal the way they pimp the high carb low fat thing. Some suggest it's because the gov. is in bed with the grain producers. I don't know about that, but the gov. does push breads & pastas hard. Anyone who works out knows carbs = you're fat, and that fat % in food means very little as long you get enough protein & keep the carbs low.
 
they change it every 5 years pretty much. I had a food and nutrition class and my Prof was actually a government official. I remember one exam question:

How would Sarah Palin refer to the nutrition policies in the state of Michigan?

The answer was : Nanny state

I thought it was funny that she used Sarah Palin as the example of someone who would hold that opinion. Oh yea and she was fat too.
 
Kadark said:
it's interesting to note that the categories for grains and fruits/vegetables were interchanged in terms of importance. the same change made its way some time ago to canada's food health guide. it may be marginally better, but it's so far from the ideal that it has become something of a joke. fruits and vegetables - at least the tasty ones that most people select in grocery stores - are high-carb, high-starch, and low in many essential fats and proteins, and ultimately rank only a few notches above junk food.
Click to expand...



It's pretty vauge. Your right though, someone could decide to get their fruit and vegtable proportion from high sugar foods like corn, grapes, bananas, apples and shit like that instead of broccolli, spinach and berries which is actually more realistic in terms of what average people really choose for fruits and veggies.

High sugar fruits and starchy vegtables (corn namely, people love this shit) can fuck you over just as bad as candy... Interseting how apples and bananas aretouted as "health foods".

Guess they failed again
 
This plate icon closely represents how I've been eating for the last several years. Following this diet has had only positive effects on my health, and I arrived here via much trial and error. I think it's important to realize that you're better off getting dairy from a yogurt with live active cultures than a glass of milk though.

I see some posters who would advise a different diet. I'd like to see the research that supports a need for more fats and proteins, because I love bacon. Seriously though, is that just for body builders?
 
alexdlrg said:
This plate icon closely represents how I've been eating for the last several years. Following this diet has had only positive effects on my health, and I arrived here via much trial and error. I think it's important to realize that you're better off getting dairy from a yogurt with live active cultures than a glass of milk though.

I see some posters who would advise a different diet. I'd like to see the research that supports a need for more fats and proteins, because I love bacon. Seriously though, is that just for body builders?
Click to expand...

Check out research on the lipid hypothesis and why people think it's bogus. There are plenty of advocates of low carb, high fat, high protein diets and nutrition these days.
 
Vader Orlag said:
Plate icon to guide Americans to healthier eating - CNN.com
Click to expand...

"We are people," said Marion Nestle, a professor in the department of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. "We don't eat pyramids. We eat off of plates."

The first food pyramid released in 1992 "promoted eating so many grain servings, it was promoting obesity," Nestle said.
Click to expand...


That is a good story, including the history at the top. I kind of like the list method of #4 from 1920. It doesn't build in the implication of portion ratios, which the geometric shapes like pyramid and wheel and plate do. It just presents foods by nutrition category and says "figure it out, yall."

You can see how shortly after, in the 1940s, they start to get too specific for their own good. We just don't have the knowledge required to say "sir, you should have equal ratios of fruit, potato, milk..."

Then in the 1980s the list is a dumbed down science lesson, which is bad because regular people are not qualified to take that as an input and generate useful results. You would need a lexicon just to begin to understand the 1980 recommendations (which may be what they did, judging from the number of pages those recommendations had)

And finally the pyramids. The 1990s pyramid implies unqualified ratios again. More grains than anything may be the only dietary choice for some people, but that doesn't mean you build it into the recommendations for everyone.

The 2000s pyramid tried to fix that by removing the ratios, but some ratio is still implied because dairy and meat are separate groups of equal standing, as are fruit and veg. Dairy and meat should not be given equal, separate standing because both are definitely not required, even though extra protein and nutrients (iron for girls) above all-plants generally is. And I'm not sure there is a rationale for fruit and veg being separate categories either. They are all plants to regular people. I think I find the distinction confusing.

The new 2011 "plate" has the same quasi-science ratios implied, and the cup of milk on the side is a complete joke. HELLOOO DAIRY LOBBY!? I'll stop there.

as a fun exercise using only this cnn article, I have produced my own system: (in hindsight this looks like the "Four Food Groups" system, except without the dairy lobby giving dairy its own section):

primary food types:
1. fruits and veg (carb energy and nutrients) (a type because the nutrients are required)
2. grains and whole grain flour for bread or pasta (mostly carb energy) (a type because the carb energy is common, storable, and affordable to everyone in quantities that sustain life on earth, unlike with fruits and veg. this part might be different if I was writing a "rich man's food guide")
3. meat, dairy, legumes (mostly protein) (a type because this extra protein and some of the accompanied nutrients are generally required above and beyond fruits, veg, and grains)

more notable food types:
A. butter, olive oil, etc (mostly fat energy) (refined fat is a type because it is a common, storable, nutritionally valuable source of food energy.)
B. baked goods, sweet snacks and drinks (mostly refined carb energy) (a type because it is common, affordable, and nutritionally distinct from less refined carb products)

rules:
eat a balance of 1,2,3 which you find desirable.
add A. to meals in amounts you desire for more energy in your diet. fats can be damaged by heat, light, and processing. avoid refined fat containing trans fats.
B. can be a treat, or a snack when you didn't eat enough of 1,2,3 in your last meal.
too much of any food type in a diet can cause undesirable effects on your body. practice whatever food moderation works for you.

rather than telling people exactly what they should put on a plate (and where), maybe I've taken the approach of giving people the most basic of food education first. they can then decide ratios for themselves based on their cravings and their cupboard. I'll say: keep the plates and suggested ratios for page 2.
 
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wait, corn is bad? D: noooooooo...

so i should be sticking to carrots, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans?

and bananas no good either? what fruits are good and bad?
 
Different graphic for the same wrong and potentially different information. If the government thinks this will help they are definitely banking on a long shot.
 
CeleresVerraden said:
wait, corn is bad? D: noooooooo...

so i should be sticking to carrots, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans?

and bananas no good either? what fruits are good and bad?
Click to expand...

Both are high in sugars.

Too much fructose from fruits (50 grams max) might even be worse then normal sugars, but thats debatable.

I'd stick with berries mostly and some from the citrus family (lemons, limes, grapfruits). Fuck everything else.

And corn, yes stay away from it.
 
corn isnt even a vegetable actually. There's a nice post about it on marks daily apple, I'd post it if I wasn't on my phone.
 
What we call "corn" is the product of genetic engineering over many many years.
 
It is a cereal grain, though.
 
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