Friday, August 17, 2012

Food Pyramid


So today I was listening to some therapy tapes that involve a certain diet (I know, ironic right? But they were treating the people with diet therapy to help with their depression) and one of the therapists happened to mention that the old food pyramid, the one that actually looks like a food pyramid, was created by the grain companies. So I looked it up, and she was right! I never knew that. Apparently nutritionists recommended about 3-4 servings of grain a day and then the lobbyists for the food companies got it to say 6-9 servings a day (or whatever number they put there). That’s just awful!
So then I read up on a whole bunch of blogs claiming that this disgraceful food pyramid is what’s making American fat.
I have a problem with this. Who actually followed the food pyramid? When I learned about the food pyramid, I sort of thought “Oh, great.” And then never thought about it again. It didn’t change the way I ate at all. In 10th grade, when I was obsessed with getting healthy (the seeds of my current eating disorder) I never followed the food pyramid. I never followed ANY food pyramid. And I don’t think there’s any reason to think that Americans as a whole follow the food pyramid. My family never did and no one I knew did... I’d wager that Americans still ate more bread than they needed, but I bet that they ate even more bread than the food pyramid recommended! And they did this without a thought as to what the food pyramid said.
Of course, the fact remains that America was pushing out the knowledge that grains were the most important foods to eat. Everyone who knows what the old pyramid looks like knows that grains are on the bottom, and so must assume that the government advocates eating more grains than any other type of food. This could have something to do with America’s weight gain, but who knows. A lot of things influence obesity.
The current food pyramid is a plate. And while this works better than the pyramid, it still has its problems. For instance, how big is this plate supposed to be? If I fill up a pizza pan with the same proportions as the guide, I’m still eating a hell of a lot more than I should.
What do you think? Did you ever follow the 1992 food pyramid?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/food-pyramid/

3 comments:

  1. I've always believed that the more processed crap you eat the more you're inclined to be depressed... I guess it's based on nutrient deficiency right? Which is also why I reckon so many of us are depressed... We're just not getting it. So the universe is trying to fuck us again. Fat and happy. Thin and miserable... I know what i'd chose. Xo

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  2. I know school lunches "try" to follow the food pyramid but it's just a bunch of bullshit. We just like to eat bread, and things like bread; cakes, cookies, buns, whatever. So many people go on diets and what's the first thing they pick up; a banana, because it's so carby. I never knew kids in school who got their 5 fruits and veggies a day.

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  3. i never followed it, i don't even think i could eat that much normally. i mean in a binge maybe, but i definitely don't base those off the pyramid lool and i purge it all anyways. i had this one personal trainer that told me to follow it, but it's just soo much food. maybe it's just my ed that's making me feel that way. plus, i don't eat meat, so the meat and alternatives section never gets fufilled lol. the best i ever felt was on the "eat clean" diet, which encourages fresh, non processed foods.

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Thanks for commenting! I appreciate it :)