maddiehope:

thedailywhat:

Dumbed-Down Dietary Guidelines of the Day: The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s familiar Food Pyramid has officially been put out to pasture, replaced by a pie chart plate chart that aims to simplify the government’s recommended dietary guidelines.

“Parents don’t have the time to measure out exactly three ounces of chicken or to look up how much rice or broccoli is in a serving,” First lady Michelle Obama said today at the unveiling of the MyPlate campaign. 

What’s different? More fruits and veggies (half a plate), less meat (which has been renamed “protein”). “We hope this will lead to the behavior changes, which is really what we need,” said the USDA’s deputy director of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Robert C. Post.

The MyPlate website offers a look back [pdf] at the various incarnations of the USDA’s food guide graphics.

[npr / usn / eater.]

This still troubles me.  The grains need to be smaller and the protein needs to be bigger.  Everybody eating carbs and sugars are why diabetes II is an epidemic.  Since I’ve started eating more meat/dairy and fewer carbs (I refuse to cut anything out completely), my gums are healthier, I feel better, I’m more alert during the day, and I’ve lost weight.

If the grains are whole grains and complex carbohydrates rather than simple sugars (like bleached whit bread), then it is actually good for you as a diabetic (I run borderline, so I have to follow a strict diet).  Complex carbs help clear your system and clean out impurities.  Unfortunately that is not always the selection that is made by many parents, especially if they are poor.