Saturday, November 15, 2008

Good ol' Food Pyramid



Not the newsest food pyramid, but the one we are most familiar with. Read the article (link at the bottom), and let me know what you think. At least they don't advocate high carb low fat diets. And actually, its not far from what we as Crossfitters do.

Solid Nutrition?

Critics of the USDA food pyramid identify several problems:

The pyramid groups all fats and oils together at the tip, without distinguishing between "good" fats (like olive oil and canola oil, which contain monounsaturated fats) and "bad" fats (saturated fats and trans fatty acids).

Starchy, carbohydrate-packed potatoes are lumped together with the low-calorie, nutrient-rich fleshy and leafy vegetables.

Protein gets only one category in the pyramid. Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts are together despite many nutrient differences.

There is no distinction between high-fat and low-fat dairy products.

Bread, cereal, rice and pasta are in a group at the base, despite the health differences between refined carbohydrates (think white rice) and unrefined ones (brown rice).

With obesity and diabetes at record highs, there is no guidance about the daily need for exercise or portion control.

Read More

2 comments:

Geri said...

You're exactly right on the USDA's food pyramid. If you want to learn more about fats read http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/the-skinny-on-fats/

JDP said...

Thanks for the link. I'll be sure to check it out!