How wrong is the food pyramid?

[CarrotCake]

The food pyramid used to be allong the lines of
6-11 grain products
5-10 fruits and vegetables
2-4 dairy products
2-3 meat & alternatives
fat and oils sparingly
then it became
5-10 fruits and vegetables
3-3+ whole grain priducts
2-4 dairy products
2-3 meat & alternatives
fat & oil sparingly

Basically I think the grain was due to it mostly because grains are mainly a source of energy and what you can get in grains you can mostly get in fruits and vegetables without the vitamins and minerals. Re:dairy and alternatives and meat and alternatives I don't eat that much of those. Meat and alternatives and dairy groups provide mostly calcium and protein which can be provided in vegetables which also provide fibre and vitamins and minerals. I think the dairy and meat industry convince the FDA/whoever makes the pyramind that it is necessary. But how necessary is it I think they make it so high so people will believe it and so people will buy more and they will get richer. Re fats and oils can see why trans fats, saturated fats should be kept to a minimum. But olive oil is a healthier oil. Fats help protects organs so it may not be necessary to keep fats so low.

I'm thinking more like
fruits 0-5 servings
vegetables 7-12 servings
grains 3-12/day(the fibres in grains I don't think are as effective as fruits and vegetables however I think grains make you feel better and convince you to exercise more)
dairy products & meat products & alternatives -1 servings per day
bad fats- sparingly
good fats- more than bad fats

Your thoughts?
Or ideas on how the food pyramid should look like?

[pseudo_vegan]

fruits 0-5 servings

ZERO to five servings?! Are you kidding? That would just give people further excuse to not consume the fruits/veggies they need to SURVIVE.

Fruits, in my opinion, should be a minimum 2 servings/day.

As far as the other items go...veggies (and I don't mean french fries :p) should be limitless. Want to eat three cups of romaine and 1/2 head of cauliflower in a day? Go right ahead :D

Grains/proteins/etc... varies too much by person so I really can't say right now.

:nigel: Cheers!

[4EverGrounded]

are you talking botanical fruits or fruits commonly thought of when someone says "fruit".

[FreshTart]

Fruit 2-5
Vegetables - 3 minimum
grains 6-12 (you need the nutritents and calories in grains)
protein (be it meat, eggs, tofu, nuts, beans, whatever) 2-3
bad fats - none
sugar - limited
good fats - 3 servings
omega3 fatty acid - 1 serving
dairy or other calcium-rich product (soy milk, etc) 2-4

[MollyGoat]

I think people should eat 4 fruits a day.

I think veggies should be at least 5, but as much as you can fit in your body.

Grains 2-3.

[CarrotCake]

In terms of fruit well I was just thinking of fruit like apples, oranges. The reasons I suggested 0-5 because I think that fruits provide most of the things as vegetables fibre, vitamins and minerals but are lower in protein than vegetables. Because I thought that the dairy and meat current suggestion can be too high but I think that it is important to get enough protein as muscle and skin cells are being replaced often. But good suggestion.
Perhaps 2-5 could be more reasonable as removing lots of dairy and meat and alternatives would give room for lots of calories.

[Kiz]

Zero fruits jumped out at me too. You need fruit!

[4EverGrounded]

ah, so I guess tomatoes would be in your "vegetable" catagory even though it's really a fruit?

[FreshTart]

Grains 2-3.

That's like 1 hamburger bun a day!

Since when did you become an Atkin's girl? :brood:

[CarrotCake]

2 is very close to 3. I think that having 3 grains would be beneficial as from my experience eating grains make me more likely to exercise and make me feel like I have energy. However if someone wants to lose weight they could be healthy at servings of grain products a day I believe.

[FreshTart]

What size are you talking? 1 slice of bread = 1 serving. 1 hamburger roll = 2 servings. 1/2 cup (or is it 3/4? :think: too lazy to look it up) cooked pasta = 1 serving.

1 serving of grain a day? What else do you plan on people eating? Fruits and vegetables?

Good luck with that.

[CarrotCake]

Interesting regarding tomatoes. I think that tomatoes are one of the healthier fruits. However I treat it more like a vegetable ie in pasta, rice, vegetable salad instead of in cereal, oatmeal and fruit salad. Good point people.
I believe it should be 2-5 except in a case where someone is very obese then it could be 0-5.

[remilard]

1-2 Servings cakes and cupcakes
2-3 Servings ice cream
12-15 Servings fruit loops
2-3 Servings primal strips
Beer - as needed

[FreshTart]

I believe it should be 2-5 except in a case where someone is very obese then it could be 0-5.

If you are referring to people who are overweight because of their eating, then I think it's best to encourage them to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Considering that many people get daily 1 fruit (apple juice) and 1 vegetable (french fries), I don't see the wisdom in discouraging fruit.

[CarrotCake]

I can see your point about people not wanting to eat mainly fruit and vegetables. The main point I think is that the dairy and meat industry influence the government to make a pyramid that isn't necessary healty. Basically meats, cheese, eggs, yogurt, milk in moderation at all. Also I forgot thanks for mentioning that. Nuts could be eaten more often as they have fibre, nutrients and good fats as well.

[Kiz]

Obese people need fruits. One serve of grains? You know when Krista says 1 slice of bread that's and "average" size too, not a mother-lode size. I used to struggle with the concept of servings till I realised on the pyramid 1 extra large banana is not one serve, it's more than that.

How about when we re-write the pyramid we re-write the serving sizes to something more normal?

[remilard]

I can see your point about people not wanting to eat mainly fruit and vegetables. The main point I think is that the dairy and meat industry influence the government to make a pyramid that isn't necessary healty. Basically meats, cheese, eggs, yogurt, milk in moderation at all. Also I forgot thanks for mentioning that. Nuts could be eaten more often as they have fibre, nutrients and good fats as well.

I agree that the food pyramid is influenced by special interests, however "meats, cheese, eggs, yogurt and milk in moderation" sounds pretty healthy to me. The SAD includes these without moderation, and is unhealthy.

[Kiz]

But their "in moderation" is a couple of serves a day.

[FreshTart]

The main point I think is that the dairy and meat industry influence the government to make a pyramid that isn't necessary healty.

I've seen this claim a few times, yet I haven't seen any evidence.*

Meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, soy, grains, nuts, olives, beans can all be healthy or can all be unhealthy. There are unhealthy meat eaters, there are unhealthy vegetarians, there are unhealthy vegans. Likewise, there are healthy versions of each.

Kiz - with you on that 100%

*I don't doubt that it is, but I would like someone, somewhere to show me concrete evidence for my own enjoyment.

[CarrotCake]

Yes they could be healthy in moderations and some people enjoy eating these foods.
So perhaps
Fruits 2-5/d
Vegetables 7-12/d
Grain Products 3-12/d (if dieting 2-12/d)
Dairy products and alternatives 0-3 /d(or 1-3/d if people aren't getting enough calium)
Meat& Alternatives 1-3/d

[Kiz]

If we are re-writing the pyramid still, can we scratch "meat and alternatives" altogether and add "beans and legumes" instead?

[FreshTart]

You NEED calcium in your diet. If you aren't getting it from dairy or a fortified milk (like soy, rice, etc), you need to make sure you are getting in elsewhere. Some people think they are getting lots, but really aren't. The 2 cups of broccoli doesn't have as much as some people think.

JUST EAT!! :)

12 vegetables would get expensive :lol: Time for internet porn again :/

[CarrotCake]

I think there isn't something necessary wrong about eating 2-4 servings of dairy and 2-3 servings of meat I think it should be 0-4 or 1-4 of dairy and dairy alternatives and 1-3 servings of meat is more reasonable than what it is now. Good point about how it okay for some people to be healthy and eat meat and dairy.

[FreshTart]

If we are re-writing the pyramid still, can we scratch "meat and alternatives" altogether and add "beans and legumes" instead?

I call it the protein category myself.

[pseudo_vegan]

1-2 Servings cakes and cupcakes
2-3 Servings ice cream
12-15 Servings fruit loops
2-3 Servings primal strips
Beer - as needed

Done and done.

Remi, tú eres un muchacho después mi corazón propio…o mi estómago :D

:nigel: Cheers!