Food Pyramid Fading? Vegetarians Way Ahead of the Game

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from: webmd.com/content/article/61/67434.htm

 

Reshaping the Food Pyramid

 

The government's Food Pyramid describes how much of each food group to eat

every day. But experts say it's not just how much you eat that counts.

Consuming fewer carbs and more " healthy " fats may help stave off chronic

disease.

 

By John Casey

WebMD Features Reviewed By Sol Grazi, MD

 

The Food Guide Pyramid, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's map of what's

supposed to make up a healthy diet, is familiar to everyone from children

in school to health-conscious senior citizens.

 

But recent research involving more than 100,000 people could turn the

pyramid on its side.

 

The study found that people whose diets contained fewer carbohydrates --

foods like bread and cereals -- and a bigger proportion of " healthy " fats,

such as olive oil, than recommended by the pyramid were 20% to 40% less

likely to develop chronic disease than those whose diets more closely

matched the USDA guidelines.

 

" The Food Pyramid is flawed, " says researcher Walter Willet, MD, a

professor of nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health.

" It says all fats are bad, all complex carbohydrates are good, all protein

sources offer the same nutrition, and dairy should be eaten in high

amounts. "

 

More specifically, the Pyramid recommends eating the following every day:

 

* Six to 11 servings of carbohydrates such as bread, cereal, rice, and

pasta.

* Three to five servings of vegetables.

* Two to four servings of fruit.

* Two to three servings of dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese).

* Two to three servings of protein (meat, fish, eggs, poultry, dry

beans, nuts).

* As few fats, oils, and sweets as possible.

 

Goodbye, Pyramid?

 

The USDA is responsible not only for the Food Pyramid, but for the

guidelines behind it. The agency uses a tool called the Healthy Eating

Index, or HEI, to measure how closely people's diets follow its dietary

guidelines.

 

" The pyramid guidelines are changed by the USDA every five years, " Willet

tells WebMD. " But the pyramid has never been revised. Can the USDA

actually do a meaningful revision of it without being influenced by meat

and dairy lobbying groups? That's the big question. "

 

So the Harvard researchers set out to develop an Alternative Healthy

Eating Index (AHEI) based on scientific evidence. They looked at the diets

of more than 100,000 men and women enrolled in two other major studies,

the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Nurses' Health study. The

subjects chosen for the Harvard study filled out questionnaires that

allowed the researchers to plot what kinds of foods they were eating.

 

The researchers came up with their AHEI by looking at dietary patterns and

eating behaviors that, according to the findings of earlier studies, were

associated with lower rates of chronic disease, Willet says. Unlike the

UDSA index, the AHEI emphasizes the quality of food choices -- such as

white meat over red meat; whole grains over refined grains; oils high in

unsaturated fat, such as many vegetable oils, over those with saturated

fat; and multivitamin use.

 

In the Harvard study, men whose diets most closely matched the AHEI

lowered their overall risk of major chronic disease by 20%; women did so

by 11%, compared with those whose diets least closely followed these

guidelines. In fact, the researchers found that men and women who followed

the AHEI lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease by 39% and 28%,

respectively.

 

Here are some of the high points of the diet that the researchers found to

be associated with low rates of disease. The AHEI suggests eating:

 

* Four times as much fish and poultry as red meat.

* Five servings of vegetables daily.

* Four servings of fruit daily.

* One daily serving of nuts, or vegetable protein like soy.

* More polyunsaturated fats (mostly found in vegetable sources) than

saturated fats (mostly found in animal sources).

* Fifteen grams of fiber from grain sources like cereal or whole-wheat

bread, each day.

* For women: No more than 1â„2 to 11â„2 alcoholic drinks a day.

* For men: No more than 11â„2 to 2 1â„2 alcoholic drinks a day.

 

The study did not establish daily amounts for all food groups, and it did

not look at exercise.

 

But Can We Really Eat This Way?

 

The USDA is now reassessing its dietary guidelines to try to bring them in

line with current nutrition recommendations, including the Dietary

Reference Intakes issued last fall by another prestigious group of experts

at the National Institute of Medicine. Those recommendations call for

adults to get an hour of physical activity a day and eat fewer trans fatty

acids (found in margarine, fast food, and commercially prepared baked

goods). They also set a new upper limit for fat consumption: 35% percent

of daily calories, up from 30%.

 

The USDA last changed the guidelines behind its food pyramid in 2000, and

plans to do so again in 2005, says USDA spokesman John Webster.

 

Webster tells WebMD that the Harvard study's findings are interesting, but

he adds that the recommendations in the Alternative Healthy Eating Index

may be too stringent for most people to follow.

 

Kitty Quinn, RD, LD, a dietitian at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St.

Louis, agrees.

 

The researchers came up with " important findings and great guidelines, "

Quinn says. " But as a country, we aren't even following the Food Guide

Pyramid as it is. We still eat too much meat, dairy products, and sugar. "

 

Quinn says that if the Food Pyramid were seen as Step 1 of a better

nutrition program for the country, then the AHEI recommendations would be

closer to a Step 10.

 

" I don't think the population is anywhere close to even eating at a Step 1

level, let alone 10, " she says. " In my opinion, it would be great if more

of us could just take a step in the right direction for eating, rather

than hope we can make the kinds of giant steps the AHEI is after. "

 

Where To Start?

 

Maybe so, but if you want to take a step in the right direction -- be it

big or small -- what should you do first?

 

According to Willet, simply avoiding excess calories -- no matter what

foods they come from -- and getting at least a moderate amount of exercise

should be your first goal.

 

Second on Willet's list comes avoiding trans fatty acids, which he says

are worse for your arteries than lard.

 

" Trans fat not only increases levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the

bloodstream, but it also decreases levels of 'good' cholesterol, " he tells

WebMD.

 

And third on his priority list? Well, let's say that sometimes there is a

comforting, old-fashioned feel to Willet's advice. He says we should enjoy

healthy fats, like the liquid oils found in most plants, as well as the

fats in nuts, seeds, and some fish - all in moderation, of course.

 

" People also tend to replace fat in their diets with foods high in sugar

or refined carbohydrates, " he says. " A lot of people think that a plain

bagel with jam can be a healthy thing to eat in the morning, but actually

that is one of the unhealthiest duos you can eat because it has a high

[blood sugar] load. You'd be better off with scrambled eggs cooked in corn

oil or a whole-grain cereal. "

 

 

 

Published March 3, 2003.

------

 

SOURCES: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2002. Walter

Willet, MD; professor of nutrition, Harvard University School of Public

Health, Boston. John Webster, spokesman, USDA. Kitty Quinn, RD, LD,

Barnes-Jewish Hospital. St. Louis, Mo.

 

 

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