The Science Behind HealthWith Doctor Bones (Don R. Mueller,

Ph.D.)The Funny Man of HealthEducator

Entertainer

JU

G G LE

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FOOD

Scientist

Foods Glorious Foods!The Food Guide Pyramid - (A good place to start)

The Food Guide Pyramid, was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1992. In recent years, it has been taking a bum rap.

The Food Guide Pyramid is not a strict regimen, but is merely a guide for what to eat each day with the relative portions, hence the name Food Guide Pyramid.

Problems with the Food Pyramid?

Critics claim that the food pyramid doesn't distinguish between items within a group. For example, what is the difference between beans and meat in the protein group or cookies and bread in the grains group?

Others contend that the food pyramid has seduced the public into believing that only fat calories will make them fat. They also propose that acceptance of the food pyramid by the public has led to the boom in obesity because in their view the recommendations set forth by the food pyramid are a "permit to overeat."

It's no wonder that the food pyramid fails in the eyes of various special interest groups, especially those advocating low-carbohydrate and/or high-protein diets.

A "new" food pyramid arrived in 2005 and in 2011 the food pyramid has been replaced with USDA’s new “MyPlate” program.

America's Unbalanced Food Pyramid

It is more reasonable to suggest that America's obsession with fast food and packaged meals, which generally contain too many calories and the fact that so many Americans fail to exercise on a regular basis have spawned the obesity problem. Too many Americans have been following an "unbalanced" food pyramid.

Critics claim that the food pyramid has led to the recent steep rise in obesity in America. This is a bit of a stretch because it remains unclear if the advice offered by the food guide pyramid has actually been widely accepted by the public.

A World of Food Guide Pyramids Since the advent of the Food Guide Pyramid a number of food pyramids have sprung to life, including those in the following list: African, Asian, Healthy Eating, Latin American, Mediterranean, Vegan and the Vegetarian Food Pyramid.

The debate continues over which food pyramid is better. Some people swear by the Mediterranean Food Pyramid while others claim that the Healthy Eating Food Pyramid is the way to go. The fact is that all of the various food pyramids serve a useful purpose in helping people plan healthy, well-balanced meals.

The best advice you can take from any one of the various Food Pyramids is to eat a variety of foods. No single food gives you all of the nutrients you need and therefore variety is the key.

The Food Guide Pyramid features foods from five major food groups. Although each group contributes many of the nutrients we need it is the sum of these groups, which provides us with all of the nutrients that we require for balanced nutrition.

Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta

Fruits

Vegetables

Proteins: Meat, Poultry, Fish, Beans, Eggs & Nuts

Dairy: Milk, Cheese, Yogurt and Ice Cream

Fats, Oils and Sweets

Let's examine each of the Food Groups:

Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta Group

Foods from this group provide complex carbohydrates, an important energy source. Many of the foods from this group are also good sources of dietary fiber.

What counts as a serving?

• 1 slice of bread • 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal • 1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice or pasta

The Food Pyramid suggests 6 to 11 servings from this group each day.

It's easier to eat 6-11 servings from the bread, cereal, pasta, rice group than you might think. For example, if you start your day with a small bowl of cereal and a slice of toast for breakfast you have just eaten two servings from this group.

A sandwich at lunch equals two servings, since each slice of bread is one serving. Thus far you have had four servings. A mid-day snack, like a small bagel, is another serving.

At dinner, if you have two servings of pasta or rice (each one-half cup equals one serving) you are already up to seven servings. Its likely that you will have more than two servings at dinner, let's say four servings, which puts you at nine servings.

If for dessert you have another serving from this group you are at ten servings. So as you can clearly see it all adds up.

Fruit Group:

Fruits are high in energy, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. With so many varieties to choose from how can you say no to fruit? Try fresh fruits over frozen, dried and canned.

The Food Pyramid suggests 2 to 4 servings of fruits per day.

Serving sizes from this group?

• Whole fruit: a medium apple, banana, or orange

• 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit

• 3/4 cup of 100% fruit juice

Vegetable Group:

Vegetables are an excellent source of energy, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. With so many wonderful vegetables to choose from, you can’t go wrong! Try fresh vegetables over frozen and canned. Canned vegetables generally have added salt and most of us can probably do without the extra salt. Whole vegetables generally have more fiber than vegetable juices.

The Food Pyramid suggests 3 to 5 servings of vegetables each day. Serving sizes from this group?

• 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables• 1/2 cup of non-leafy, cooked or chopped raw vegetables• 1 medium-sized potato, 3/4 cup of vegetable juice

Protein Group: Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts

The Food Guide Pyramid suggests 2 to 4 servings from this group.

What counts as a serving?

• Lean meat, poultry, fish, cooked (3 oz.)

• Ground beef, lean, cooked (3 oz.)

• One Egg (1 oz.), Dry beans and peas, cooked, 1/2 cup (1 oz.)

• Peanut butter, 2 tablespoons (1 oz.), Nuts, 1/3 cup

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Humans use about 20 different amino acids in constructing the various proteins we need.

Dairy Group:

Milk, Cheese, Yogurt and Ice Cream

The Food Guide Pyramid suggests 2 to 3 servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese per day.

What counts as a serving?

● 1 cup of milk or yogurt ● 1-1/2 ounces of natural cheese

● 2 ounces of processed cheese

● 1/2 cup cottage cheese ● 1/2 cup of ice cream or ice milk

Dairy products are a delicious way to get protein and bone-building calcium into your diet.

Fats, Oils and Sweets

Fats and oils hold an important place in a healthy diet. For example, we must obtain certain essential fatty acids through our diet. However, we do not need to take in excess fats and oils in order to obtain these essential fatty acids.

Fats and oils are the body's most concentrated form of energy, providing 9 kilocalories (kcal) of energy/gram of fat (oil). More than twice the energy/gram provided by carbohydrates and proteins.

One pound of fat contains about 3500 kcal of energy. It is easy to see how losing fat can be quite a struggle.

Located at the top of the Food Pyramid, reminds us to use these items sparingly.

Nutritious Diets have:

1) Adequacy - provide all essential nutrients in sufficient amounts.

2) Balance - provide foods that don't overemphasize one nutrient over that of another.

3) Calorie control - a diet high in nutrition, yet moderate in calories.

4) Moderation - not eating excessive amounts of any one food.

5) Variety - "Variety is the spice of life." Healthy need not be dull.