I Feel Like that Pyramid is Upside Down

Are we walking into the Louvre? No, but the upside down pyramid we are discussing is way prettier than the one in Paris. This week (or last week if you are reading this after it’s published) the FDA, HHS and Dept of Agriculture put out their updated dietary recommendations. I won’t lie, I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but there is a picuture, so that’s worth at least 1000 words in my opinion. The executive summary is - eat real food. That is shockingly simple for a goverment document, but I think it exemplefies the concept that when it comes to an additive in food, you must prove that it is safe to get it in, not just say there is no evidence of harm - and we havne’t looked either.

I’m of two minds on processed food. On the one hand, I hate all the fake stuff in it and I generally believe that if you don’t like something, you can just choose not to participate. However, as a mom, I am desparate to not have the shelves in the grocery store so packed with absolute crap that I have to be the bad guy saying no to everything. (On a personal note, I think that high fructose corn syrup should be banned, but have a CocaCola problem - I know it’s bad, but I’d love the government to help me out here.) I think if we look at the combination of what the government spends on supplemental nutrition for added sugar/high fructose corn syrup products, the amount the government and society spends on diabetes care and how unhealthy our population has become, then it would be clear that this is a poison which ranks somewhere around opiods as the most dangerous thing to consume.

So, what does the new food pyramid say - apparently we shouldn’t be eating two bowls of cereal three times a day. The largest part of the pyramid (some would say base, but since the pyramid is upside down, maybe the top?) has pictures of meats, dairy and veggies with fruits just below the veggies. As we get past the meat and veggies, we come to healthy fats (eggs, oils, avocado) and fruits on the other side. The point on the pyramid is a loaf of bread and a bowl of what looks like outmeal, but since I’m a Southerner, I’ll call it grits. I think this is brilliant and looks like how I would have drawn it.

So, what do I think about this new pyramid? I think it’s amazing. I grew up with the food pyramid - and was convinced that a baked potato was a heath food as long as you used margarine on it and only 1 TBSP of sour cream. While much of what the government does doesnt probably influence the population too much, I distinctly return learning healthy eating from the food pyramid. For someone who is insulin resistant, this was acactly the wrong thing to do. I also think that if you look at American waistlines and health outcomes in the 50 years since the government made their first set of recs, you can’t help but see thier influence. We then get the American Diabetes Association saying diabetics reneed to eat at least 50 % of thier daily calories in carbs. Then the American Heart Association starts licensing the heart healthy sticker for anything low fat - like cereal - and you get the feeling that there is no real science here.

So, it’s definitely better than what we had before and it may have a little way to go, but i think this is a great change. Let’s get the ultra processded foods out of you and our kids diet@