USDA's new food pyramid

[MacGuffin]

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

What does everyone think of it?

It calculates your pyramid based on your age, sex, and physical activity level.

Here is mine:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/results.html?age=30&gender=male&activity=low

It seems fairly reasonable. I need to increase my vegetables intake.

[crule81]

My diet of canned ravioli, frozen meatloaf, and taco bell fits in very well with with the new food pyramid. Of course, I've added a new section to the pyramid: Mountain Dew intake.

[SheepDog]

One one hand, it complicates the issue. But on the other hand, it acknowldeges the fact that there is no "one size fits all" approach to diet.

What's funny is that I don't see a breakdown of carbs/protien/fats (except fat calories is listed). The pyramid doesn't match the food labels now, but people don't eat labels, so I guess that makes sense. Maybe labels should be changed to say how many servings of each category they have (at least in prepared foods) to match?

Just a couple things I noticed.

[Lucinda]

It seems fairly reasonable except for the amount of milk they want you to drink. Three cups a day? Why would that be needed? Calcium can be gotten from foods other than dairy.

[MacGuffin]

It seems fairly reasonable except for the amount of milk they want you to drink. Three cups a day? Why would that be needed? Calcium can be gotten from foods other than dairy.
Yeah, dairy seems to have always been overinflated by the USDA. Lobbying I suspect.

[file cabinet]

hopefully it fairs better then the previous one...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/themes/pyramid.html
http://www.newstarget.com/z001405.html

[coffeezombie]

Where do ramen noodles fit on the new pyramid? I wish they made these pyramids so that nutritional idiots like myself could read them.

[sixleaf]

I need more protein, as I suspected. Where is the part where you tell it that just want to eat grains and dairy all day long?

Ramen, by the way, is in the "university student food" section that you apparently missed. It's there along with mac&cheese, spaghetti os, pot pies, and coffee.

[Hypnos]

Milk has lots of simple sugars ... not suitable for most adults.

[SensEye]

They should rename the "milk" category "dairy" for one thing. Also, I don't think they should have abandoned the fat/protien/carbohydrate stuff altogether as it is very misleading. For example, 1.5 ounces cheese = 1 cup milk but the cheese will have lots more fat. There needs to be more discussion of the various fat types (poly/monounsaturated, saturated, and the ever so evil trans-fats).

Of course, this is the INTP view which says you can never have too much information for analysis. I realize they are trying to dumb it down for the average shmuck so he doesn't play the "too complicated" card as an excuse for not thinking about nutrition whatsoever.

[Pedro_The_Lion]

What percentageof your fruit serving is a pop-tart?

[int]

I'm unsure of the dirt behind the new pyramid, but it's probably more of the same (although companies like Kellogg's were probably shunned, this time around).

It also goes against recommendations from my doc. I wonder who's wrong.

[Miss Anthropic]

Same old crap, presented a new way...nobody really pays attention to that when they eat anyway. If the gov't were so worried about peoples' nutritional intake they'd have out-lawed fast food by now. Oh, and I love how they say you must have AT LEAST 3 oz of whole wheat bread or pasta--basically some carb. As if people in this country struggle to get enough carbs. (Atkins is soooo over!) What percentage of people actually get as many servings of fruit and vegetables per day as they are supposed to? Probably only those vegan people participating in that study to see if they live longer (their lifespans are supposed increase by at least several months...) by eating fewer calories (translation: severe deprivation, living off of brown rice and vegetables). I can't think of anything that would make life go slower than if I felt hungry all the time. I'm feeling a tad more cynical today.

[Miss Anthropic]

What percentageof your fruit serving is a pop-tart?
Probably a small one. So you'd best eat the whole box with a carton of milk to start your day. Because if you eat one poptart with a glass of milk and don't quite finish the milk, you are obligated to eat another poptart, but then you will run out of milk...So of course you refill your glass. And so on until the box is gone. By the end you've got a half serving of fruit and a months worth of sugar! (You can skip the whole wheat bread today though)

[athman]

Where's jjt? she's the resident nutritionist on the forum, I'd like to know her opinion on it.

[Pedro_The_Lion]

Anyone actually plan to use this? It kind of inspired me to not eat only crap and drink green tea. I think I'm going to buy a weight set so I can work my arms.

[s]

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

What does everyone think of it?


It seems fairly reasonable. I need to increase my vegetables intake.


Reasonable if you are not intolerant to grains and dairy.

I am a meat, fruit, veggie, nut eater and I get my dairy from lactose free sources... oh, and the occasional pizza and chips and queso that makes me hate myself.

[Dman]

It's way off base. Where are the beer and bacon categories?

[Geek Engineer]

I don't know if this is for everyone or not but a low G.I. diet seems to be working pretty well for me so far. I have Type II diabeties in the family, and the doctor said I had insulin resistance. Granted the G.I. isn't an exact science it just seems logical that there are foods that are going to be better sources of carbs vs. others. When I finally decided I can't live fat anymore I was about 219 pounds around January last year. Now I have lost weight and now I am about 172 pounds now. I worked the first ~8 weeks of it on a more strict diet of generally low G.I. carbs, high fiber content veggies, no raw sugars, and healthy amounts of lean protein. I also use a lot of suplimental psylium fiber with my meals or mixed in my food in an attempt to help lower the G.I. of the meal. I like it because I usually feel full longer and I can get by on much less calories per day. Anyway I have kept loosing weight for over a year so if it works don't knock it. Oh, I do try to exercise some with walks at lunch, but I admitt it is a strugle to find the modivation and time to do more of it.

[MacGuffin]

I don't know if this is for everyone or not but a low G.I. diet seems to be working pretty well for me so far. I have Type II diabeties in the family, and the doctor said I had insulin resistance. Granted the G.I. isn't an exact science it just seems logical that there are foods that are going to be better sources of carbs vs. others. When I finally decided I can't live fat anymore I was about 219 pounds around January last year. Now I have lost weight and now I am about 172 pounds now. I worked the first ~8 weeks of it on a more strict diet of generally low G.I. carbs, high fiber content veggies, no raw sugars, and healthy amounts of lean protein. I also use a lot of suplimental psylium fiber with my meals or mixed in my food in an attempt to help lower the G.I. of the meal. I like it because I usually feel full longer and I can get by on much less calories per day. Anyway I have kept loosing weight for over a year so if it works don't knock it. Oh, I do try to exercise some with walks at lunch, but I admitt it is a strugle to find the modivation and time to do more of it.
Sounds very similar to the South Beach Diet. That worked for me, so I'm not surprised the G.I. works for you.

I regained some of the weight when I stopped watching what I eat. Recently I've cut out carbs, esp. sugar, and I've basically stopped eating large meals after lunch. Slow, but it works and I don't really feel too deprived.

[Geek Engineer]

Yes I figure I am on this type of diet for life, I just think if I go back to normal it will be the same for my weight for sure.... Granted I try to have a few meals every so often that I can have anything I want or else I would want to kill myself..haha.. Anyway so far I try to work it so it is as simple as possible which works best for me...

[Dman]

Sounds very similar to the South Beach Diet. That worked for me, so I'm not surprised the G.I. works for you.

I regained some of the weight when I stopped watching what I eat. Recently I've cut out carbs, esp. sugar, and I've basically stopped eating large meals after lunch. Slow, but it works and I don't really feel too deprived.

(envisions slightly overweight Macguffin struggling to get into Vader suit)

[Hypnos]

(envisions slightly overweight Macguffin struggling to get into Vader suit)
It's even funnier if he's under 6 ft. tall.

[jjt]

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

What does everyone think of it?

It calculates your pyramid based on your age, sex, and physical activity level.

It seems fairly reasonable. I need to increase my vegetables intake.

About time I say, the original pyramid was highly flawed from the start as Walter Willet (Harvard) pointed out in another article mentioned in this thread.
The food type recommendations are in line with current research at last. Also giving a pyramid based on age and sex etc is a great improvement too. I think it is still too high in carbs for lots of people. The other problem with grains especially wheat is that they are one of the greatest allergenic foods (along with milk). There are many people with allergies to these foods who put up with low energy, bloating and mild irritable bowel symptoms that don't realise cutting them out would make a big difference. And as others have said milk is not the only source of calcium.

The Joslin Institute for diabetes gives a lower carb recommendation for people who are overweight or have type 2 diabetes, I am more in favour of this recommendation. http://joslin.org/news/nutritionarticle.shtml

It is more in line with the South Beach diet, low GI diets and the Zone Diet which give better results for most people than the higher carb one that the USDA recommends.

[MacGuffin]

It's even funnier if he's under 6 ft. tall.
Ha, ha I'm like 6'2"-6'3"

[Geek Engineer]

I think it is still too high in carbs for lots of people. The other problem with grains especially wheat is that they are one of the greatest allergenic foods (along with milk). There are many people with allergies to these foods who put up with low energy, bloating and mild irritable bowel symptoms that don't realise cutting them out would make a big difference.

The web article was interesting, and it seems along the line with what I have been trying to do so far.

Yea, I know someone at work that came down with wheat gluten intolerance and he didn't realize it for quite a while and it was I guess making his health miserable. I didn't know you could get that later in life.. I sure hope that doesn't happen to me. I have been trying to make my own stone ground whole wheat bread that I add some phylium fiber, and use frutose instead of sugar.

[jjt]

One down side of the new food pyramid is that they don't adjust for height and body size, they have a one size fits all. There is a big difference in calorie requirements between a muscular 70" women and a small frame 60 " woman.