Adios Food Pyramid

Another icon of yesteryear will be entering the dustbin of history. Food pyramid say hello to the walkman, the pogo ball, jelly bracelets, neon clothing, Z Cavaricci's, and Cabbage Patch Kids. After its latest redux in 2005, the food pyramid will be replaced by a food plate.

The most encouraging aspect of the new design is the inclusion of actual foods. The latest edition of the pyramid had color-coded stripes that symbolized different food groups. I didn't quite get it at the time and won't miss it either.

The other important change is that dairy and grains are far less represented, which is suprising due to the relationship the food industry has with the Department of Agriculture. If I were the food czar, I'd create the new food plate to look something like this:

• 40% of the plate would constitute vegetables (Americans still eat far too little and we really can't eat too much)
• 10% would represent fruits (2 per day is realistic)
• 10% would be whole grains (OVERRATED!)
• 30% would be lean meats, seafood, nuts, and beans (Americans are also notorious for being extremely low when it comes to fiber; beans are a tremendous source of fiber)
• The highly marketed dairy category would only garner 5% (mostly good yogurts such as fage or chobani, plain)
• The last 5% would be healthy fats and oils (remember that there could be carryover here from other categories, walnuts supply us with about 97% of our daily Omega 3 value) 

If we are also going to teach our children correctly, we should make an effort to demonize processed foods a bit. It worked with cigarettes in the '80s and we are now headed down the path of a diabetic epidemic. Therefore, if I were the USDA czar, I would sever ties with the agricultural industry, or at least try. Since this is my blog I can dream right?

To summarize: Eat more vegetables, eat a good amount of nuts, fruits, lean meat, seafood, beans and eat less dairy and grains.

Of course, this is a lot easier said than done. Good luck and go create your own plate!

P.S. -- Drink fluids! (Divide your weight in half and drink that many ounces)