The old food pyramid theory of healthy nutrition is an absolute joke, because of its food industry sponsorship bias and ignorance of current nutrition research being implemented in its design. So what are my recommended guidelines as to what foods are good to eat and how much should I eat? I'm glad you asked!
There are 2 models I believe are important for the best health, which show you:
1) which foods are best to consume
2) how much of each to have in a meal
The food pyramid design shows which foods to eat more of - at the bottom of the pyramid - and foods to eat less of - at the top. The original food pyramid was designed in 1924 by Mary Barber, who was a dietitian employed by... wait for it... KELLOGGS! So she designed a food pyramid with grains as the food group to eat the most of. What do Kelloggs' products have the most of? Grains! So Kelloggs designed the food pyramid to sell more of their stuff! It's nothing to do with grains being healthy for you, it's all about making more money from you.
Recent research into grains shows that they are neither healthy for you, and they actually contribute to obesity and many chronic disease conditions including heart disease and cancer. I have written about the negatives on grains in other articles in my blog. As a result, I have removed most grains from "my" recommended food pyramid design.
The layout of this food pyramid is rearranged a little from the original design, but it is all about fresh, organic, whole and real foods! This new model is based on a recent food research and on changes to farming and agriculture practices which make a lot of our food unhealthy and contributing to poor health.
Fats and oils - have been moved down the pyramid, meaning that we should eat MORE of the healthy fats - raw nuts/seeds, avocado, eggs, olive oil (unheated and as a dressing only), butter and coconut oil (for cooking), and fatty fish - and none of the unhealthy ones (trans-fat from processed and bakery foods, vegetable oils and margarine).
Grains - mostly removed (especially wheat and all bakery products, corn, breakfast cereals, pasta etc)
Dairy - removed and replaced with nut milks, rice milk etc, but NOT soy milk (or anything soy for that matter)
Vegies - moved down to the bottom (excluding water) so we need to eat the most of these per day
Fruit - put into their own group and moved up to eat less of these. Real fruit is ok. Fruit juice is not ok.
Meats - should be organic and grass-fed (NOT grain-fed), to reduce the intake of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals to increase the shelf-life of meat. Limit processed meat intake.
Yes the medicos (who are untrained in nutrition or the effects of food on the body) and dietitians (who are sponsored by food industry groups and provide biased advice like the old food pyramid) would be horrified by this design, as it lacks any dairy or grains! I have written other articles on whether dairy or grains are really necessary in our diets - and they aren't! There's more calcium in vegetables, nuts and seeds and some seafood than in dairy! And there's nothing in grains that can't be obtained from the other food groups, particularly vegetables, nuts/seeds and grass-fed meats. You will not miss any nutrients by reducing or cutting dairy and grains from your diet!
I will write about how much you should eat in your meals in another article soon!
There are 2 models I believe are important for the best health, which show you:
1) which foods are best to consume
2) how much of each to have in a meal
The food pyramid design shows which foods to eat more of - at the bottom of the pyramid - and foods to eat less of - at the top. The original food pyramid was designed in 1924 by Mary Barber, who was a dietitian employed by... wait for it... KELLOGGS! So she designed a food pyramid with grains as the food group to eat the most of. What do Kelloggs' products have the most of? Grains! So Kelloggs designed the food pyramid to sell more of their stuff! It's nothing to do with grains being healthy for you, it's all about making more money from you.
Recent research into grains shows that they are neither healthy for you, and they actually contribute to obesity and many chronic disease conditions including heart disease and cancer. I have written about the negatives on grains in other articles in my blog. As a result, I have removed most grains from "my" recommended food pyramid design.
The layout of this food pyramid is rearranged a little from the original design, but it is all about fresh, organic, whole and real foods! This new model is based on a recent food research and on changes to farming and agriculture practices which make a lot of our food unhealthy and contributing to poor health.
Fats and oils - have been moved down the pyramid, meaning that we should eat MORE of the healthy fats - raw nuts/seeds, avocado, eggs, olive oil (unheated and as a dressing only), butter and coconut oil (for cooking), and fatty fish - and none of the unhealthy ones (trans-fat from processed and bakery foods, vegetable oils and margarine).
Grains - mostly removed (especially wheat and all bakery products, corn, breakfast cereals, pasta etc)
Dairy - removed and replaced with nut milks, rice milk etc, but NOT soy milk (or anything soy for that matter)
Vegies - moved down to the bottom (excluding water) so we need to eat the most of these per day
Fruit - put into their own group and moved up to eat less of these. Real fruit is ok. Fruit juice is not ok.
Meats - should be organic and grass-fed (NOT grain-fed), to reduce the intake of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals to increase the shelf-life of meat. Limit processed meat intake.
Yes the medicos (who are untrained in nutrition or the effects of food on the body) and dietitians (who are sponsored by food industry groups and provide biased advice like the old food pyramid) would be horrified by this design, as it lacks any dairy or grains! I have written other articles on whether dairy or grains are really necessary in our diets - and they aren't! There's more calcium in vegetables, nuts and seeds and some seafood than in dairy! And there's nothing in grains that can't be obtained from the other food groups, particularly vegetables, nuts/seeds and grass-fed meats. You will not miss any nutrients by reducing or cutting dairy and grains from your diet!
I will write about how much you should eat in your meals in another article soon!
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