Nutrition Guidelines: From Pyramid to ‘Pie’

Last week, on Thursday morning, MyPlate arrived on the table, the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) official pie chart resembling replacement icon to the food pyramid you might be familiar seeing on your morning cereal box. In a quote taken from the USDA Office of Communications' official press release, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says, "MyPlate is an uncomplicated symbol to help remind people to think about their food choices in order to lead healthier lifestyles." The MyPlate icon is ‘intentionally simple' ; indeed, it takes the form of an actual plate, demonstrating the fractions of various food groups deemed by the USDA to constitute a healthy lifestyle. Although I agree that the new Plate is a step up from the obscure multicolored MyPyramid (even I still don't know what food group each color represents without looking it up online), I have my own beef with the Plate.

What is USDA trying to accomplish? The USDA, with Michele Obama, President Obama's wife, as a major proponent, set out to provide an ‘easy-to-understand icon' that would deliver a message of healthy eating to not only adults, but children as well. The food groups represented in the plate icon are based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Vegetables, grains, proteins, fruits, and (represented as a little glass of milk to the side) dairy. One can already see how the simplicity works for the good of the American diet. "What is more simple than a plate?" Michele Obama said during the MyPlate campaign. The personalization of the plate, ‘My' plate, is representative of plans to provide personalized diet assessment and guidelines online at ChooseMyPlate.gov. "As Americans are experiencing epidemic rates of overweight and obesity, the online resources and tools can empower people to make healthier food choices for themselves, their families, and their children." - USDA.

Are there downfalls to the new icon? Any icon as simple as MyPlate trades information for simplicity. Of course, as a rule of thumb, if your plate is half-full of wholesome whole grains andes are healthy grains, meats, and veggies. For example, the USDA recommends that at least half of grains we consume be whole grains. That's all fine and dandy, because my local supermarket was considerate enough to offer whole wheat versions of my favorite Sara Lee hamburger buns. That is, I thought I was doing well, until I looked at the ingredients and found High Fructose Corn Syrup, that terrible highly processed table-sugar replacement whose consumption has been directly correlated to obesity by the American Medical Association. However, because it is determined that further studies are necessary to confirm these correlations, the American Medical Association does not restrict use of high fructose corn syrupor require the use of warning labels on food products containing it. Why is there sugar in my bread anyway? ‘Sugar' isn't a group on MyPlate.

Why I have a problem with milk. The MyPlate icon obviously advocates a serving of dairy with each meal. There are very healthy dairy products out there, calcium intake is very important, especially for women. I do have a problem with Tip #9 on USDA's Got your Dairy Today? guide sheet : ‘if you are lactose intolerant, try lactose-free milk, drink smaller amounts of milk at a time, or try a soymilk beverage'. What they should have included was: ‘if you can't tolerate all the recombinant hormones we pump into our cows... try organic'. For 5 years I thought I was lactose intolerant, until I realized I could drink as much organic milk as I wanted without problem. The recombinant hormones used in cows to increase milk production are steadily causing allergic reactions in our youth. I personally would bet many out there that think they are lactose-intolerant are indeed actually intolerant to recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH). My Tip #9: Drink Organic.

Pick fruits wisely. Although higher consumption of fruits is a healthy recommendation, not every fruit is created equal. Although the apple is an American favorite, other fruits such as the berries (blueberries, blackberries), and grapes have much higher levels of antioxidants that are powerful cancer-fighters. Which brings up another point... where is the chocolate on MyPlate? High quality or organic chocolate products contain high levels of plant-based chemicals that have cancer-fighting and hearth health effects. I personally try to have a serving of chocolate a day, where a dark organic chocolate is the best choice.

"The secret elixir of life may have less to do with wheat germ and more with cocoa" - Boston Globe

The most important tip. At least I applaud the USDA for their Choose MyPlate Tip #10: Drink water instead of sugary drinks. Sugary sodas and many other sweetened drinks are LOADED with high fructose corn syrup. If you are going to splurge, at least drink a delicious pure cane-sugar root beer. Otherwise beware: soda and sugary drink consumption is thought by many to be the single most detrimental component of the American diet. This also applies to other sweet soda-loving populations. And Diet drinks are not much better, with their sugar substitutes that leave your palate craving even more sugar.

The consensus. I asked Tweeters what they thought of the new MyPlate. While general responses to the change from Pyramid to Plate were positive, the health conscious including myself agree that a simple icon doesn't change our need to education the public in ongoing health debates and new findings. I agree with the response of a Tweeter in Michigan: "I think MyPlate is better than the pyramid by a long shot, but still oversimplifies important aspects of healthy eating."

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References:

The Health Effects of High Fructose Syrup, Report 3 of The Council on Science and Public Health (A-08). The American Medical Association

REEDY, J. (2008). A Comparison of Food-Based Recommendations and Nutrient Values of Three Food Guides: USDA’s MyPyramid, NHLBI’s Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Eating Plan, and Harvard’s Healthy Eating Pyramid Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108, 522-528 DOI: 10.1016/j.jada.2007.12.014