Nutrition Pyramid Nixed, USDA Launches New Plate Graphic

Source: Huffington Post



So long, food pyramid. Today, First Lady Michelle Obama helped introduce the government's new food icon. And it's a plate. The new graphic is split into four sections: fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins, with a small side of dairy.

Federal officials hope it will serve as a simple "how-to" for making food choices by providing a clear breakdown of what our plates should look like. "When a mom or dad comes home from a long day of work, we're already asked to be a chef, a referee, a cleaning crew," the first lady said in a press release. "So it's tough to be a nutritionist, too. But we do have time to look at our kids' plates."

The new food plate graphic replaces the Food Guide Pyramid, first launched in the early 1990s, then revamped in 2005. It reflects the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which promote measures like avoiding oversize portions, switching to fat-free or low-fat milk and opting for water over sugary drinks.

The first lady broke it down even further. "As long as half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, we're golden," she said. "That's how easy it is."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/02/nutrition-pyramid-out-new-plate-graphic_n_870300.html

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No mention of meat. I like it.

The Right is going to go absolutely Nuts.

I'm damned sure not going to destroy my health by eating a high percentage of carbohydrates just to make farmers in red states happy or vegans/vegetarians.

I think the National Dairy Council had a strong hand in developing this. The plate makes sense, but the "Dairy" glass is absurd considering the significant numbers who are either lactose intolerant or allergic to some component of dairy.

I avoid dairy whenever I can, for general health reasons.

cause you know they're gonna find you a dump a nice tall cold glass of full fat milk down your throat. It's just a matter of time, they know that you aren't capable of seeing that graphic and ignoring the dairy part of it.

It's a massive conspiracy involving those damned people from Wisconsin, can't trust any of em.

All I want is the dairy portion. But I totally understand if you are lactose intolerant. :)

My kiddos like the plate graphic. We've been making sure our dinners have a bit from each group lately.

Jesus fucking christ....

You do know that lactose free dairy (milk, I assume they mean) exists, right?

That would fall within the protein section. :evilgrin:

But now I have to get rid of all those Pyramid plates I bought...

horrible url.

Mixing them up is confusing and is going to sabotage the results they (presumably) want: balanced consumption.

Food components are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, etc.

Food sources are grains, legumes, fish, dairy, vegetables, etc.

If you choose to get your protein from (for example) cheese, do you ALSO have a side of dairy? Or, if you choose to eat beans and peas as your vegetable (legumes are high in protein) do you ALSO need another helping of "protein?"

Sheeeeesh... every time they try to make it "easier" they make it less useful and more confusing.

irritatedly,
Bright

She got tired of the routine morning question, "So what did everyone have for dinner last night?" because the pool of answers consisted of "Wendy's", "McDonalds", and "Burger King" - mostly in back of the SUV on the way home.

Some people really shouldn't breed.

That they've got them wrong seems hardly worth worrying about - it's a damn good start they've heard of them so early.

She is *supposed* to follow the school's curriculum, but she said "fuck that noise" a long time ago and uses her own. The canned curriculum is watered down wimpy bullshit. And hers isn't simply 3R shit either. She fills it with real-life experiences and things that amaze the kids like watching beans and radishes sprout. That's really an over-simplification, but I'm not going to post her entire school year program here.

Yes I know. Times are tough and when mom is working two jobs just trying to make ends meet she might not have enough energy to come home and cook a nutritious meal. But with a little planning it certainly is possible to do better than fast food. Yes, fast food is OK for an occasional treat, but everyday? Come on now.

She taught Head Start for two years and also taught in rural South Carolina where she was lucky if the kids showed up with pants that weren't ripped out the ass side. She's also taught in upper-income schools and THEY are the ones where the kids are a problem! In South Carolina, the entire kitchen staff was made up of the grandmothers of the children at the school. They had shit for a budget but they made some FUCKING good food!!! I ate there a few times and was amazed. And by shit for a budget I mean no paper products in the bathrooms, nothing but old brown and green construction paper, and nubs for crayons. Oh, did I mention the rats nest in the wall of her classroom? It took a week to get that removed.

The lower income kids generally don't eat at fast food joints - too expensive compared to a box of Mac & Cheese or a homemade sandwich.

fast food everyday. I am probably coming off as judgmental, but so be it.

"Self-absorbed" doesn't quite cover it. Fortunately, her kids this year are a fairly nice bunch (with the exception of one spoiled brat), but she's had some royal bitches (and yes, I mean that term in that exact sense because it is the only one that fits - sorry mods, it just is) in the past - five-year old hair-flipping fashion model "have to be better than everyone" sorts that one MIGHT expect to encounter as early as sixth or seventh grade. Want to guess what the moms were like?

A couple of weeks ago, I was waiting to pick her up and a group of 1st or 2nd grade kids got off a bus. Three of the boys were standing at the front of the line grabbing their junk, running their hands through what little hair they had, and doing pelvic thrusts. WTF are they WATCHING? HelloOOOOO PARENTS! Is there anybody IN THERE? HelllOOOOOoooo! 404 Not Found.

I've known a lot of people who shouldn't have been parents because they were too young, unprepared, not in a stable relationship, etc. Frankly, most of them turned out to be pretty damn good parents because they cared about their kids more than themselves and made the effort to BECOME good parents. It is really sad when a couple who have "everything" in the sense of "enough money" treat their kids like they do the SUV when it needs an oil change. "FUCK, how long is this going to take? I've got things to do."

But hey, they obviously need a tax cut, right?

Olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil and nuts (especially almonds), Omega-rich foods have an important role to play in any healthy diet, they should be included. A diet too low in healthy fats can cause health issues. I'm finding it hard to believe that Michelle doesn't know that or chose to ignore them.

Mrs. Obama and her husband swapped jobs. Now.

Very smart overhaul, and easier to understand.

People will look at it and "correct" it to four even quarters.

Then they'll consider that having 1/4 of your plate at dinner time taken up by fruit is untenable. (I personally can't remember the last time I had fruit on my dinner plate, unless it was something stewed over the meat or a veggie fruit like tomatoes). Or, because it's hard to keep that much fresh fruit around, they'll add fruit cocktail to their meal. Ooh, all that HFCS, in addition to whatever fructose is in the fruit.

It also overlooks the issue of non-grain starch sources like potatoes. According to this, a chunk of cow, a pile of potatoes, a pile of noodles, and a banana is a healthy diet. Let's complement it down with a side of ice cream. Yum. Hey, Michelle said it's a healthy diet. Are you calling her stupid and a liar, you racist?

Then there's breakfast, which is usually a bit light on the veggies.

And when's the last time you had a slab of protein or a pile of nice, leafy green veggies with your desert? (And I don't want to hear about chocolate-dipped bacon. I just don't.)

The point is that this is an average of what you should have for the day, not per meal--and even then, it's how it should average over a few days. The pyramid and other less iconic symbols, being non-iconic, made you think. The plate is too iconic. It's not for every plate in front of you. It's a non-thinking way of presenting things for those who don't think, assuming that they'll understand and think about it. ("Gotta leave my mark on my signature issue, doncha know?")

Once learned, it'll be easy to apply.

I especially like the wine part!

This:


Not this:




more info:
http://www.oldwayspt.org/mediterranean-diet-pyramid

Including the wine (plus some beer).

I like this new diagram.

More of a Food Quadrangle, I suppose.

that the greeks and spanish have an entire section dedicated to olive oil. And the french one recommends two glasses of wine per day for women, three for men.

Interesting cultural differences there.

still not going to be ANY way that half of all my meals are going to be made up of fruits and vegetables.

Reality is, unfortunately, too complex for a simple graphic.

For one thing, humans are different enough that the same diet isn't appropriate for all of them.
And even worse, some of the difference is genetic, associated with recognizable groups, not individual and random. Ooh, can't go there, both because of the groups that appear (Basques) and the groups that don't appear (whites).

So, setting aside the fact that there should be five or six different plates, barring a more complex system entirely...

Nuts and nut butters - part protein, part fat. Too much fat to use them as your only protein sources (in most cases). Putting them in 'protein' doesn't really work.

Dairy doesn't need to be there - it would have made more sense to label that dish 'fat'. Because, even if you get it all in other food, everyone needs some, and it's good to know what it is and where it comes from. Whereas 'dairy' is a mixture of fat, protein, and carbs, and you want to track them all if dairy is a significant part of your diet.

If you're vegetarian or vegan, a lot of protein may come from legume/grain combinations, which makes the 'grain' section unrepresentative. What you want to know is starches/carbs, and protein, which means you have to know how complete the grain protein is after being mixed with the rest of your diet.

The truth is, to make a good system, you'd require everyone to know far more about their food than most people do, or want to.

Her explanation works better than the grapic...

Over half fruits and vegetables (of course, this doesn't mean 60% bananas and 40% avocados)
As little fat as you know you need (and the healthiest fats you can choose)
If you really do over half fruits and vegetables, I don't even think the other half matters that much (again, no extremes. You can't fill that other 50% with beer, hot dogs, or Cocoa Krispies).

But I remember when the pyramid was designed. It was a pretty good design, before it got reworked by the commodity food people. I suppose it's more politically acceptable to come up with a whole new one than to fix the old one. That would be too much like admitting we didn't get it right the first time.

I couldn't eat that much if I were forced too.

Portion size, in this nation, has increased dramatically over the last 50 years.

I think a smaller plate is needed as well.

I like that it doesn't specify meat BUT, that protein portion does look kind of big. And I'm surprised that the fruit portion appears to be the same as the protien...guess it's because of the sugar levels even in fresh fruits.

This is a good thing for America. If you don't like it then just keep eating at McHeartAttack's and such places...Fat, Sugar and SODIUM are NOT your friends!

p.s...I just looked at the individual pages for each food group and was surprised to see at the bottom, in red,
"Key Consumer Message: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables" on the fruit and vegetable pages.

So I'm not sure why they didn't make the fruit and veggies section equal. The message added in red almost looks like a quickie after thought.

whole grains and protein are good for your health.

Ketchup. One cannot survive without kethup... Every intelligent being knows this.

Eat FOOD.
Not too much.
Mostly plants.

All credit to Michael Pollan. And I like his other pointers, too. And I still get to occasionally enjoy a crockpotted pork roast or other delicacy.

Is this going to change the diet of even one person?

and get round ones now.

:rofl: :applause:

But it's missing the portion of soylent green we will need in the near future.

Some vitamins need fat to be absorbed.

</bartsimpson>

When I heard they were scrapping the pyramid, I was stunned and wondered why they would stop using something that had - to some degree - made people more aware of nutrition. But, actually seeing it, I can see it is a far better guide. The biggest problem will be that following it may be impossible for many as fresh fruit and vegetables are possibly too expensive.

protein from animals --

Same with sugar and salt -- what you get from fruits and vegetables is healthful --

what you get via refined sugars and salts is not!

eom