If you are like me you tried to follow the guidelines implemented by the United State Department of Agriculture with the famous Food Guide Pyramid. The pyramid  guide came out in 1992, but the food recommendations began in 1980 and has been widely used ever since. If you wanted to be healthy you tried to plan your daily meals according to the guidelines as follows 6-11 servings of bread, cereal, rice and pasta, 2-4 servings from the fruit group, 3-5 servings from the vegetable group, 2-3 servings of milk, cheese, and yogurt, 2-3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nuts, and fats and oils used sparingly as depicted at the top of the pyramid. What we are now discovering is that the USDA and the guide does not depict healthy eating. The government has been telling you to eat little fats and increase carbohydrate consumption. A new large scale study has established that these guidelines are completely wrong and probably contributed to the obesity health crisis that currently exists. The study was published in the Lancet and it followed 135,335 people in 18 countries on five continents. the study found that the consumption of fat was associated with a lower risk of mortality, while the consumption of carbohydrates was associated with a higher risk. It found that it didn’t matter what kind of fat was consumed as related to heart disease, and that saturated fat was inversely related to strokes. Other studies have confirmed this finding that dietary saturated fat is not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease.

For the 20 years prior to the USDA food guidelines obesity rates remained steady. After the guidelines came out obesity rates increased 15 to 23%. This current health crisis is manmade and can be at least partly linked to the USDA food guidelines.

Fat is not the evil substance that it has been projected to be and carbs such as bread, cereal and pasta are not the  healthy choice as depicted by the pyramid. Confused by what to eat and not eat, what is healthy and what is not. Most people are and most people recognize that their health depends upon healthy food choices. My recommendation, eliminate all processed foods, especially sugar and anything made with white flour. I can help you make the right choices  contact me at [email protected]

Categories: Diet