The Science-Based Approach to Food Pyramids
What Does ‘Healthy Eating’ Look Like?
Determining the food pyramid through Google searches alone is inefficient, as there are many with varying degrees of consistency from pyramid-to-pyramid agreement-wise.
There’s been one pyramid going around online recently, but it’s the food pyramid from the USDA in 1992. This particular food pyramid has been said to advocate for a predominantly carbohydrate-based diet, which is true, but only part of the picture of things.
These carbohydrates are whole grains (6–11 daily servings), fruits (2–4 daily servings), and vegetables (3–5 daily servings), not simple sugars and the processed snacks they’re commonly found in.
The original food pyramid advocated limiting added sugar and oils like trans fats and saturated fats. Abiding strictly by the USDA’s food pyramid would be a high-carbohydrate diet relative to the amount of protein and fatty acids it permits. It is limited to 2–3 servings of dairy and 2–3 servings of other protein and fat sources, like meat, fish, eggs, and nuts.
What is Good about the Original Food Pyramid?
Since the standardization of this model, there’s been a health epidemic in America. Some say that the recommendation of a high…
