Previous Page
NUTRITION delines - ten years on
Why do we give the nutritional advice we do? At the beginning of the 21st century dietary advice was largely informed by the Healthy Eating Pyramid (fig. 1) developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the early 1990s and modified in 2005.
It is now well documented that the development of this was heavily influenced by some very strong lobbyist and pressure groups predominantly representing American wheat growers and cattle farmers. Consequently it over-emphasised refined and processed carbohydrate sources of energy by showing loaves of bread, bowls of breakfast cereal, white rice and pasta and potatoes and failed to distinguish between these and wholegrains and brown rice. What constituted a serving was left to subjective interpretation! Consequently throughout the late 1990s and into the noughties (2000s) the obesity epidemic was fuelled by intake of high calorie dense, nutrient light, high glycaemic index (GI) and high glycaemic load (GL) foods.
Little wonder that very low carbohydrate diets such as Atkins became popular and were successful in stimulating weight loss. Once you’ve cut out these kind of carbs all that is left to eat is protein and fat - a diet that quickly becomes unpalatable and therefore hypocalorific; our bottom line for weight loss. Additionally
protein, particularly high fibre, plant based sources but also meat sources enhance satiety – they make you feel fuller for longer.
However, such diets throw the baby out with the bath water! Whilst research evidence is strong that a diet lower overall in carbs is good, it is refined processed carbs and high GI and GL potatoes that should be eliminated or at least restricted. These should be replaced with good carbs in the form of whole grain, fruit, low GI root veg such as squashes and sweet potatoes together with other vegetables and beans. These sources are nutrient dense and high in fibre so enable better appetite control – you feel fuller for longer but with a decreased calorie load. They also protect against a range of health risks. (6).
The pyramid also failed to distinguish between types of fat and protein. Unhealthy sources of protein from land animals (beef, lamb and pork) that contained high levels of saturated fat sat alongside much healthier fish and plant sources such as whole grains, nuts, and beans. All fat was deemed bad and confined to the tip of the pyramid ignoring an overwhelming wealth of research evidencing the health benefits of essential mono and polyunsaturated fats from fish, and vegetable sources such as dark green leafy vegetables (DGVs), nuts and seeds. The low fat
Figure 1: Healthy Eating Pyramid
Fats, oils & sweets Use sparingly
Milk, yoghurt & cheese group 2-3 servings
Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs & nuts group 2-3 servings
Vegetable group 3-5 servings
Fruit group 2-4 servings
Bread, cereal, rice & pasta group
6-11 servings
19