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Eat, pyramid way

The food pyramid tells us what to eat

The food pyramid was a visual tool created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than a decade ago. The image of a pyramid with desirable foods at the base and foods to be eaten sparingly at the apex conveyed information about healthful food choices in a simple way. But the food pyramid had its critics: the folks at Harvard hated it, one criticism being that the agricultural lobby had a lot of say in the making of the pyramid.

Recently, the USDA retired the food pyramid and replaced it with MyPyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) , an interactive form that figures out the best food choices for age and activity level. For example, an 80 kg sedentary male is told to take eight ounces of whole grains, three cups of vegetables, two cups of fruit, three cups of milk and 6.5 ounces of beans per day. This provides around 2400 calories per day.

The folks at Harvard created a food pyramid that rests on a foundation of weight control and daily exercise. The basic structure includes a base that rests on whole grains like whole-wheat bread and brown rice. As we ascend the USDA pyramid, we come across fruit and vegetables. Current guidelines recommend at least 10 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables per day. Sadly, this is the weakest part of our diet. We cook our vegetables to death, and very few eat fruit every day.

Higher up come dairy, meat, poultry, fish, nuts and dry beans. The guidelines recommend around 2-3 servings per day. This ignores the fact that fish and poultry are better than red meat, and that nuts have a role in cardiovascular health.

At the top of the pyramid rest sweets, butter, and oils. But not all fat is the same. Vegetable oils are better than butter, and including them on the same perch as butter does them injustice.

The latest guidelines for an 80 kg sedentary male allow seven teaspoon of vegetable oil every day and three cups of dark green vegetables, two cups of orange vegetables and three cups of dry beans per week.

The average Indian diet is rich in polished starch, low in fruit and fresh vegetables and high in saturated fat. We may eat less meat, but our diet is worse on the whole. And we have the heart disease rates to prove it.

RAJIV. M

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