The Government and Nutrition Education

The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods
by Michael Murray, N.D., Joseph Pizzorno, Lara Pizzorno

(Page 2 of 3)

Throughout the years, various governmental organizations have published dietary guidelines, but it has been the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that have become the most widely known. In 1956, the USDA published "Food for Fitness — A Daily Food Guide." This became popularly known as the Basic Four Food Groups. The Basic Four were:

1. The Milk Group: milk, cheese, ice cream, and other milk-based foods

2. The Meat Group: meat, fish, poultry, and eggs, with dried legumes and nuts as alternatives

3. The Fruits and Vegetables Group

4. The Breads and Cereals Group

One of the major problems with the Basic Four Food Groups model was that it suggested graphically that the food groups were equal in health value. The result was an overconsumption of animal products, dietary fat, and refined carbohydrates and insufficient consumption of fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes. This in turn resulted in the diet being responsible for many premature deaths, chronic diseases, and increased health care costs.

To replace the Basic Four Food Groups model, various other government and medical organizations developed guidelines of their own, designed either to reduce a specific chronic degenerative disease such as cancer or heart disease or to reduce the risk for all chronic diseases.

In an attempt to create a new model in nutrition education, the USDA published the "Eating Right Pyramid" in 1992. Since it received harsh criticism from numerous experts and other organizations, it was altered visually in 2005 (see page 10).

One of the main criticisms of the Eating Right Pyramid is that it does not stress strongly enough the importance of quality food choices. For example, the USDA thinks foods from the Bread, Cereal, Rice, & Pasta Group should make up the bulk of your diet. Eat six to eleven servings a day from this group, and you are supposedly on your way to a healthier life. What the pyramid doesn't tell you is that you are setting yourself up for insulin resistance, obesity, and adult-onset diabetes if you consistently choose refined products (those containing white flour) rather than whole-grain products in this important category.

You see, the Eating Right Pyramid does not take into consideration how quickly blood sugar levels rise after eating a particular type of food — an effect referred to as the food's glycemic index, or GI. The GI is a numerical scale used to indicate how fast and how high a particular food raises blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. There are two versions of the GI, one based on a standard of comparison that uses glucose scored as 100, while the other is based on white bread. Foods are tested against the results of the selected standard. Foods with a lower glycemic index create a slower rise in blood sugar, while foods with a higher glycemic index create a faster rise in blood sugar.

The glycemic indices of some of the foods the pyramid is directing Americans to eat more of, such as breads, cereals, rice, and pasta, can greatly stress blood sugar control, especially if they are derived from refined grains, and are now being linked to an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, and cancer. As a result, while the goal of the Eating Right Pyramid was to improve the health of Americans and, it was hoped, slow down the growing trend for obesity and diet-related disease, the fact is that because of poor individual food choices within the categories, the pyramid has only worsened the problem.

In light of this, the big question consumers may want to ask is "Is it appropriate to have the USDA making these food recommendations in the first place?" After all, the USDA serves two somewhat conflicting roles. First, it represents the food industry, and second, it is in charge of educating consumers about nutrition. Many people believe that the pyramid was more weighted toward dairy products, red meat, and grains due to the influence of the dairy, beef, and grain farming and processing industries. In other words, the pyramid was not designed as a way to improve the health of Americans but rather to promote the USDA agenda of supporting multinational food giants.

The Optimal Health Food Pyramid

We do like the concept of graphically illustrating what constitutes a healthful diet, so we are offering our version of the Eating Right Pyramid: the Optimal Health Food Pyramid.

The Optimal Health Food Pyramid incorporates the best aspects from two of the most healthful diets ever studied: the traditional Mediterranean diet and the traditional Asian diet. It also more clearly defines what the healthy components within the categories are and stresses the importance of regular consumption of vegetable oils as part of a healthy diet. Let's take a closer look at each category.

Foods to avoid entirely:

• Refined white flour products, including breads, pastas, cakes, muffins, and pretzels

• Refined sugar-loaded products, including cereals, candies, and baked goods

• Processed foods packed full of empty calories (sugar and fat) and/or salt, for example, canned soups, theater-style popcorn, and potato chips

• Margarine, butter, and shortening

• Smoked and cured meats, including bacon, hot dogs, smoked luncheon meats, sausages, ham, and Spam

• Meats cooked at extremely high temperatures or cooked to well done

• Heavily sweetened or artificially sweetened soft drinks, flavored drinks, and teas

• Fried foods, including French fries, potato chips, corn chips, and doughnuts

Vegetables: Five to Seven Servings Daily

The word "vegetable" comes from the Latin vegetare, meaning "to enliven or animate." Vegetables give us life and should be the main focus of any health-promoting diet. Vegetables provide the broadest range of nutrients of any food class. They are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and protein. They also provide high quantities of cancer-fighting phytochemicals.

It is very important not to overcook vegetables. Overcooking will not only result in the loss of important nutrients, it will also drain the flavor. Light steaming, baking, and quick stir-frying are the best ways to cook vegetables. And do not boil vegetables unless you are making soup, as much of the nutrients will leach into the water.

If fresh vegetables are not available, frozen vegetables are preferred over their canned counterparts. The only exception is tomato products, for example, soup, paste, or sauce, because canned products actually provide more absorbable lycopene than do raw tomatoes.

There are three vegetable categories: green leafy and cruciferous; low-glycemic; and starchy. Eating a variety of vegetables from each category daily will help you achieve a "rainbow" assortment and allow you to focus on low-glycemic choices.

Copyright © 2005 by Michael Murray, N.D., Joseph Pizzorno, N.D., and Lara Pizzorno

About the Author

Michael Murray, N.D., is an educator, lecturer, researcher, and consultant to the health food industry. He has written more than twenty books.

Dr. Joseph Pizzorno is cofounder of Bastyr University, the first accredited multidisciplinary university of natural medicine in the United States.

Lara Pizzorno, M.A., L.M.T., is a health writer and medical editor with more than twenty years of experience.