Healthy Food Pyramid
The suggestions in this healthy food pyramid guide were made by Dr Michael Smith prior to the release of the new food guide pyramids in February 2005 by the US Government.
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| A promotion for a radically new food pyramid is most likely a marketing stunt for another fad diet! |
What I suggest are simple, more user friendly changes with only one significant change...the percentages of daily intake of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
The Original Healthy Food Pyramid
Other than servings per day for each group, not much information is provided. Here are the things I would change and add:
A. Food Pyramids Guide -- Changes
I would like to see examples (text or pictures) of specific foods in each group. Second, the daily recommended intake of fat, carbohydrates, and protein should be clearly stated.Something like this:
B. Food Pyramid Guide -- Add
1) Types of Fats
a. Healthy Fats (as well as the best food sources for each type)
Monounsaturated fat remains liquid at room temperature but may start to solidify in the refrigerator. Foods high in monounsaturated fat include olive, peanut and canola oils. Avocados and most nuts also have high amounts of monounsaturated fat.
Polyunsaturated fat is usually liquid at room temperature and in the refrigerator. Foods high in polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oils, such as safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils.
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats found mostly in seafood. Good sources of omega 3 include fatty, cold-water fish, such as salmon, mackerel and herring. Flaxseeds, flax oil and walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids, and small amounts are found in soybean and canola oils.
b. Harmful Fats
Saturated fat. Usually solid or waxy at room temperature, saturated fat is most often found in animal products - such as red meat, poultry, butter and whole milk. Other foods high in saturated fat include coconut, palm and other tropical oils.
Trans fat. Also referred to as trans-fatty acids, trans fat comes from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. This makes the fat more solid and less likely to turn rancid.
Hydrogenated fat is a common ingredient in commercial baked goods - such as crackers, cookies and cakes - and in fried foods such as doughnuts and french fries. Shortenings and some margarines also are high in trans fat.
Look for the words partially hydrogenated in the list of ingredients to see if the product has trans fat. Some food labels state if the product has no trans-fatty acids. By January 1 of 2006, food manufacturers will have to list trans fat content on nutrition labels.
Dietary cholesterol. Your body naturally manufactures all of the cholesterol it needs, but you also get cholesterol from animal products, such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products, lard and butter.
2) From the http://www.Mayoclinic.com/face-the-fats/
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommend that fat make up no more than 35 percent of your daily calories. This means that if you consume 1,800 calories a day, consume no more than 70 grams of fat a day.
Keep in mind, however, that this is an upper limit and that most of these fat calories should come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources.
The New Healthy Food Pyramid Guide
There is one radical change I would propose for the healthy food pyramid guide (yes, I had a radical change to suggest all this time...but it has nothing to do with the message itself only the "look and feel" of it).The color coded system was adapted from the National Institute of Health's Website. The change is also reflected in the food labels for easy transition from your home to the grocery store.
1) The Food Label
2) The Food Groups
For any questions on this food pyramid guide, please contact us.
More than the healthy food pyramid guide on our nutrition and balanced diet page
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