I remember in 1994 when the new food pyramid was released. It was colorful, gave more specifics on portions and type of food (i.e. whole fruit is better than juice etc) and had a stick figure walking up the pyramid to emphasize exercise. Unless someone sat down with you to explain the fine details, however, it really didn’t have much use in the average household.
Last week the USDA ditched that food pyramid for a “healthy plate.” This new guideline, called, “My Plate” is split into four sections—red for fruits, green for vegetables, orange for grains, and purple for protein—with a separate blue section for a side of dairy.
The plate visual is more user -friendly and practical for busy American families. The food pyramid was targeted to provide education while the new “plate” is designed to actually change eating behavior as we fill our plates at dinner, at potlucks and while going through buffet lines.
The plate icon makes it clear that fruits and veggies should make up half of your meal, while protein is the smallest part of the plate. The grain portion is a bit larger and still offers the advice to “make half your grains whole.”
I, personally, still have a problem with these details. I whole heartedly support the plate idea; in fact I have often used it while counseling people on a simple way to control portions and calories. My objection is that many of us really get too little protein in our diet.
Protein keeps us full, helps repair and build muscle tissue but usually isn’t the first thing we grab when we’re in a hurry. Breads or starchy foods are the food of choice: granola bars, pretzels, rice cakes, cereal etc. The advice to make half of our grains whole still leaves too much room for less healthy refined grains such as white rice, white bread, pretzels, bagel chips, pasta, and cereals as a bedtime snack!
My experience has been that people wanting to lose weight shy away from protein due to their fear of fat, and select grains which often result in higher calories and higher triglyceride levels. This new plate doesn’t promote healthy fats either, which are important in good cholesterol levels and overall health. Had I designed the Plate, I would have switched the protein and grain recommendation, encouraging at least a quarter of the plate from lean protein/beans/legumes/eggs and no more than a quarter of their plate from whole grains while keeping that other half of the plate full of colorful fruits and vegetables. I would also have encouraged some meals without grains!
This is what I do agree with on the new Plate idea:
Balance calories by keeping portion size moderate
Eat more foods that are nutrient dense; increase fruits and vegetables, choose low fat or fat free dairy and lean protein foods
Decrease empty calories such as packaged foods that are high in sodium, starchy foods such as breakfast bars that are covered with sugar, and foods consisting primarily of empty calories such as soda, cookies and pastries. I think if we focus on nutrients and on getting the most nutrition out of the fewest calories, we’re on the right track. If we use “My Plate” as a guideline to increase non processed fruits and vegetables to fill half the plate, get a quarter of our plate from lean protein or dairy and no more than a quarter from whole grains in some meals, we are off to a great start!
Christie Ryan is a registered nurse and Independent Beachbody Coach. She has a passion for health and fitness and enjoys helping people change their lives. Her local business is Concepts in Weight Mangament and Team Beachbody. She can be contacted at 785-827-3131 or cryan@ruraltel.net // <![CDATA[
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