Is the Base of the Pyramid of Food in The US Off Base?

If you follow the pyramid of food guide to the dot, you may end up with some health issues in your hands. Why? Because the main goal of the US pyramid is to indiscriminately reduce fat, the good and the bad, while encouraging abundant servings of grains. Unfortunately, study after study has shown that this is not the right path to follow.

I am not going to get here into the special interests that have contributed to shape the pyramid so off base because it would be a long story and it is not the purpose of this article. Besides, analyzing the political interests behind the pyramid here won’t do a thing for your health.

What I am going to do is explain to you why you cannot follow the USDA pyramid to the letter. Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, in his book Eat, Drink, and be Healthy (Simon and Schuster, 2001) states the following: “The USDA Pyramid is wrong. It was built in shaky scientific ground…it has been steadily eroded by new research from all parts of the globe”.

The actual base of the pyramid is off baser
The foundation of the actual USDA pyramid recommends generous portions of bread, cereal, rice and pasta. This recommendation might have been alright two centuries ago when breads and pastas were made with coarse flours but nowadays 85 to 90 percent of these products are highly processed and have quite high glycemic index values.

The glycemic index of most of the foods that are part of our daily menus is very high. Why? Because not only the end products are being highly processed but they are made with “modern” flour.

Modern flour is produced by high-speed rolling mills which have replaced the traditional millstones used in the 18th century. These new mills are much more effective because unlike the old ones, they can do the work without generating much heat, a factor that causes the flour to spoil quickly. This was primarily due to the oxidation of the embryo of the seed. Therefore, flour that was oxidized more rapidly by the high heat in the old mills didn’t have much of a shelf life.

It didn’t take long for manufacturers to discover that by removing the germ (the core of the grain) and the bran (the seed coat which makes the fiber) this oxidation process was avoided. The result was a super-fine, pure white flour that does not spoil. From here on, bread, bread products, and pastries not only became a delicacy, but they had an extra-long shelf life and the old coarse stone ground flour was left to the peasant of the world.

The discovery of the glycemic index however, has taught us that products made with these superfine particles of flour cause a rapid rise of our blood sugar. In fact, white bread and white flour spike our blood sugar faster than if we eat sugar out of the sugar bowl.

Bread made with superfine particles of flour is not the only bad carbohydrate in our lives. Other products made with this type of flour that we consume regularly are pizza crust, hamburger bans, pasta, crackers, cakes, cookies, donuts, and breakfast cereals. In this category we can include most varieties of rice. And we wonder why our glucose level is high all day long!

Then, what should the base of the pyramid be?
The base of the pyramid should be moderate exercise. The human body needs to be physically active not only to run errands, but to help with the internal functions of our organs. Including moderate exercise in our daily life helps us in many, many ways. It is the real base for good health. Here are some (not all) benefits of being physically active:

1. Exercise increases the level of HDL, the good cholesterol. Contrary to popular belief, exercise does not lower total cholesterol.
2. Lowers the level of triglycerides, another blood fat associated with atherosclerosis.
3. Regular exercise is an important part of a program to lose weight.
4. Exercise increases the body sensitivity to insulin preventing high levels of sugar in the blood.
5. Fibrinolytic activity: In the body, there is a normal mechanism to dissolve the tiny blood clots which we form each day. This mechanism is called fibrinolysis. Moderate exercise helps increase fibrinolytic activity.
6. Regular exercise may prevent high blood pressure.
7. Moderate exercise reduces the demand of oxygen by the heart and reduces also the amount of work this organ has to do.

A better order in the pyramidr
So, how can we restructure the USDA food pyramid? Maybe a better order for the layers of the pyramid from bottom to top will be:

1. Moderate Exercise (5 times a week)
2. Fruits and Vegetables (10 to 12 servings per day)
3. Fish, eggs, beans, olive oil (3 to 5 servings)
4. Poultry (1 to 2 servings)
5. Lean red meat(use occasionally)
6. Whole grain breads, cereal, pasta or rice (use occasionally)
7. Sweets, processed foods, butter, margarine, white or wheat flour bread (use sparingly)

The bottom liner
If you follow these 7 point guideline you will make big improvements in your health. Not only you will undo many of your present health issues, but you will prevent new ones from putting a burden in your body. Here in my blog you have plenty of information on exercise, good fats, good oils, etc. that can help you accomplish this task. You may want to take a look at it.

To your health!

Emilia Klapp, R.D., B.S.
www.TheDiabetesClub.com