This is the latest thing from Nutrition Australia and I'm pretty certain you can see a few things wrong with it, even if you're the most extreme of Trendy Dieters.
For a start, my inner editor wants to point out that legumes turn up twice. Someone must have paid a hill of beans for that kind of representation.
Secondly, the food pyramid has been "adjusted" by assorted lobbyists since its inception in the 1970's. Look for the quote past the modern pyramid for what I'm talking about that. Before that, there was the Basic Seven which was designed to re-enforce rationing and encourage Americans to use everything they were allowed.
We've been trying to categorise our food ever since.
At least this version has a reduction in the total carbohydrates we're "supposed" to have, according to political bribery, er, I mean "medical science". Lobbyists, whoops, "dietary professionals" have been doing paid studies to know what's best for us. And it looks like grains and carbohydrates are losing monetary influence, um, "dietary necessity".
Me? Sarcastic? Of course I am.
And while it's possible to live on a plant-sourced diet for many people, let's please try to remember that there are folks who are allergic or have bad reactions to loads of that stuff in the base of the pyramid. And let's remember that it can be extremely difficult to get all your micronutrients out of factory-farmed food because everyone seems to have forgotten that crop rotation needs to be a thing.
But that's a rant for another day.
People with thyroid issues have problems processing vegetables if they aren't cooked properly. Some folks can't eat certain veggies at all. And all the diabetics have to stay away from all of the bred-for-sugar, bred-for-yield stuff in the fruit section. I know that I, personally, can't sustain a pure veggie diet because I have bad reactions to lots of the nutritious alternatives that vegetarians and vegans use.
It's nice to see healthy fats easing in. Even the bribed officials (check the bottom of the page) can recognise the need for some fats in the diet, but they put the healthily-fatty avocado right in the bottom with the veggies. One: Avocado is a fruit. Two: Avocado is probably the best plant-based source of healthy fats shy of the humble olive. If anything, it should be up on the top in a slightly bigger triangle.
You know, with the nuts, which are also a good source of both healthy fats and proteins.
Three cheers for taking sugar into the "Limit" rectangle, but there's still converted sugars in the carbage section. They've gone away from white flour, and white flour by-products, but a complex carbohydrate is still a carbohydrate. And everyone who knows the slightest thing about how digestion works, also knows that carbs metabolise into sugar. And if you look at all the other sections, there's alternatives. You can have dairy or non-dairy substitutes. You can have meats or non-animal proteins. You can have any fruit or veg you can ingest... but grains don't have non-grain substitutes. It's just... grains. And we supposedly have to deal with it.
I also have to note that it says "added sugar" on the poster. People have no idea how much sugar is in pre-packaged foods unless they've watched That Sugar Film or had the microscope necessary to read the damn label. And forget getting take-out. That's swimming with sugar. In everything.
I get the feeling that there were a lot of vegetarians and vegans on the design board, this time. I get it, I really do. Veggie people love their diet and believe it's The Best Thing(tm). Some have made moral choices and I'm 100000% behind them on that. But forcing everyone to do the same is not... exactly... that great. For one, the most common food allergens are also the most common vegan substitutes. For another, there's a host of veggie folks who delight in "tricking" their more carnivorous friends into eating veggie food. Without asking their friends why they're more carnivorous first.
Yes, you can get your iron from spinach, cabbages, and whatnot. You're fine with that. Yes, you can get vital nutrients from bell peppers, or capsicum as we call them in Australia. And we all agree that mushrooms are bloody delicious. But I get violently ill if I consume so much as a tiny shred of spinach and most cabbages. As for the capsicum... I'll just leave the phrase "noxious gasses" and my fervent wish not to gas my family up to your imagination.
I do ketogenics. This is one diet that works for me and has effectively cured my chronic illness(asthma) and Hubby's(diabetes) as well. And, for the record, I don't eat a huge amount of meat. My diet is likely 80-90% veggie with the rest falling into the 'animal products' zone. If I was fool enough to accept this funded bullshit "medical science", I would be straight back on the nebuliser every day, and my Hubby's kidneys would freakin' die.
There needs to be lots more studies of Keto and other LCHF diets. Ones that don't have an agenda or someone's funding sourcing it. And we need people who don't cherry-pick what those studies say to make those studies accessible to the general public. And while we're at it, study the vegans and the vegetarians too. See what they're doing right, and see if it can be adapted for those who literally can't eat everything the veggie folk are eating.
I'm almost at the point where I think the successful veggie folk are also doing LCHF without knowing they're doing that. I just need some very clever people to go prove it. Just like the people doing the genuine Mediterranean Diet (not the one that's been messed with by the grains people) are really doing LCHF.
Corporations are going to fight it. Of course they are. They've made a ton of money out of "guidelines" like this picture, and they intent to make tons more. It's up to us to recognise what actually works and roll with that until the marketed philosophy finally changes.
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LOL, Forgot to log in as Paleo-trail.
Why do we need grains?
I love your writing! I laughed so hard my partner would have thought I was going/insane if he wasn't already used to my..er...eccentricities XD