Oprah's "fad diet"
ha ha ha Kriz Taco bell..... but yeah Holly, I would love to try eating vegetarian again someday when I have more time. Vegan is REALLY hard, btw...no animal products? omg - talk about label nightmares - it's in every-thing. Not that it makes it right to do that - use lips and buttholes in everything, but that is what happens. Like all eating well requires, it takes time and commitment. I would eat more good fats with it for the satiety too. I would eat whole yogurt, fo rexample. Also, years ago when I tried to do it, i can admit that I did not use top quality foods - I didn't even know about a lot of types of beans or grains like adzukis or quinoa...and that is what it takes to have variety.
USDA pyramid has the most science behind it...of course, there are issues. The pyramid is a one size fits all approach and there is not a fatchick in this room who knows what that means....NOT. For the umteenth time, we all have to figure out the combo for us. You asked why people do not follow it - my feeling is: when is it taught? ask your kids...it is not taught in schools - oh no, every body has their panties in a wad over No Child Left Behind. In my 1960 school days, it was not taught. I remember having a class session or two on balanced meals, but I did not see the pyramid until I was an adult and got a job in this field. My kids never saw it in school. I know I am one person who does not eat her veggies - it something that is forefront in my mind every day - and when I do it, I feel better and perceive lots less cravings. The 2003 Human Genome Project is freaking amazing in what has been uncovered in eating vegetables. It may change things forever in how we view them.
She's not calling it a way of eating (WOE) but a 21-day stint. fad
Noun Informal 1. an intense but short-lived fashion 2. a personal whim I call it a fad because she tries everything, doesn't stick with anything, and goes to extremes. It's not as if she's gone vegan for life. She's doing it for 21 days to try to "discover" food problems. Her problem IMHO is her constant need to change her diet, seeing attempts as failures, and a whole other bunch of stuff. As for the USDA pyramid? I won't follow it given that I know it's NOT backed by science but more by economic drivers. There's so much to be said for pre1970s pyramid eating. Since we began suggesting higher carbs were healthier, obesity and related disorders have skyrocketed. So much poor information not grounded in science. I do not trust the USDA one bit to put my health first.Food Guide Pyramid: Conclusion from a number of authorities
While the Food Guide Pyramid was a well-recognized symbol as a nutritional guide, as long ago as 2001 it was admitted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and The National Institutes of Health (NIH) that the Food Guide Pyramid was a total failure. 80% of Americans recognized the symbol, but people had become sicker and heavier since it was updated in 1992. Its recommendations were based on uncertain scientific evidence, and were barely improved over the years to reflect major improvements in our understanding of diet and health. Also: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/04/0 9/food-pyramid-part-four.aspx
| Did the Faulty Food Guide Pyramid Make You Obese? |
The Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA), which are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and make up the foundation of the Food Guide Pyramid, are neither nutritionally or biochemically sound. In fact, many experts now believe that the very principles that were meant to be "heart healthy and beneficial to all who followed them" may be responsible for the epidemics of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity facing the nation. The principles are based on the "lipid hypothesis," developed in the 1950s by nutrition pioneer Ancel Keys, that linked dietary fat to coronary heart disease--the nutrition community of that time completely accepted the hypothesis, and encouraged the public to cut out butter, red meat, animal fats, eggs, dairy and other "artery clogging" fats from their diets. This was a radical change to the diets of tens of millions of Americans. Experts cite the following problems with the Dietary Guidelines:
The paper's authors acknowledge that it won't be easy to change the "long-held beliefs that animal fats cause cardiovascular disease and grain products are the staff of life," but say that ignoring the science that says otherwise is no longer an option. Further, they point out that the 2005 changes to the DGA and Food Guide Pyramid will make the guidelines more complex but won't correct the errors. Journal of the American Physicians and Surgeons, Winter 2004: 109-113 (Free Full-Text PDF)
Be a Member of My Select Group of Health-minded People… If you want to be on the inside track when it comes to information about your health, take a peak inside the Mercola Inner Circle. As an exclusive member, you’ll have private access to up-to-date health information straight from the experts themselves, including CD and Video interviews. As a member, you’ll receive 5 information-packed COMPLEMENTARY bonuses just for signing up! If you want to get a better understanding about why I believe the United States Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans (or more typically referred to as the Food Guide Pyramid) are so faulty, you could place a large amount of responsibility for the problem on half-century old research by nutritionist Ancel Keys that first linked dietary fat to cardiovascular disease. As a result of nutritionists buying into Keys' "lipid hypothesis," Americans were soon encouraged to substitute the vegetable-based fats in lieu of animal fats and avoid red meat completely, because its fats contained cholesterol that was also deemed unhealthy. Interestingly enough, when Keys published his analysis that claimed to prove the link between dietary fats and coronary heart disease, he selectively analyzed information from only six countries to prove his correlation, rather than compare all the data available at the time from 22 countries. As a result of this "cherry-picked" data, many dietary fallacies remain alive and well in conventional medicine: The pyramid considers protein to be the least important of the macronutrients. The over-reliance on processed grains and sugars to make up the majority of carbohydrates one consumes daily, rather than getting them from whole foods. The pyramid completely ignores the essential fatty acids, including ALA (alpha-linolenic), LA (linoleic), EPA (eicosapentaenoic), DHA (docosahexaenoic) and AA Arachidonic acids. A common myth is that I don't spend much time commenting on is the enormous confusion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Keys was one of the primary proponents for changing perceptions on this issue. The major problem with PUFAs is that they lump all types of unsaturated fats together. There is little question that we need these fats and that without them our health would dramatically decline. Unfortunately very few people appreciate the distinction of the different types of fats and have merely lumped all polyunsaturated fats as good and saturated fats as evil. Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone reading this newsletter will be familiar with the benefits of fish or cod liver oil. I rarely refer to this oil as a polyunsaturated fat, but it is. In fact, fish oil is one of the most unsaturated fats in our diet and because of this fact it is very susceptible to damage. It can be easily oxidized and become rancid, which is one of the reasons why it is so important to find a high quality brand. The vast majority of Americans are grossly deficient in this incredibly important fat. The other fact that most Americans and health care professionals are clueless about is the incredible intake of highly processed primarily omega-6 vegetable oils. At the turn of the 19th century Americans consumed less than one pound a year of liquid vegetable oil and 100 years later at the close of the 20th century we were consuming over 75 pounds per year of highly processed vegetable oils. This was in large part stimulated by Ancel Keys belief that these polyunsaturated fats were good for you. While they are good, but in the appropriate quantities. Just as you need water every day to survive, if you drank two to three gallons a day, this extra amount of water would rapidly kill you by diluting the sodium levels in your blood to a point where your heart would not beat properly anymore. Even with the absolute finest artesian spring water, two to three gallons of water a day would likely be fatal for many. Similarly, many have been fooled into believing that omega-6 polyunsaturated fats are healthy for you and are consuming them in levels that were never designed for health. This imbalances the sensitive omega 6:3 ratio and causes enormous health complications. Most people are clueless that the PUFA they really need is omega 3. There is nothing necessarily magic about omega-3, it is just at this point in time our culture is deficient in it. It is theoretically possible to have the converse situation and that would be equally as bad. One could eliminate all omega-6 fats and overdose on omega-3 fats. However, the fact remains that this is simply not the case and most of us are deficient in omega 3 fats and are overdosed on omega-6 vegetable oil fats. It is unclear to me what causes more disease in this country, an excess of grains and sugars or a deficiency of omega-3 fats replaced with omega-6 trans fats. Hard to say as they are both so devastatingly destructive to health. However your best bet is to not debate, which is worse but merely incorporate sugar and omega-6 trans fat avoidance into your diet plan. Related Articles: Food Pyramid May Soon be Replaced |
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Hol, when I first began to research low carb lifestyles, I was astonished to really start to understand what was behind the Food Pyramid guidelines. So much of what we believe is healthy is what we're told, but not supported by actual research. Fat being bad for you was merely an unproven theory, yet tons of studies show the benefit of fat in a diet. It makes me very angry that such theories were bought hook line and sinker and have become the basis of what we consider healthy, yet have such disasterous results.
