Sliding Off the Food Pyramid

Friday, May 6, 2005

Page 16

AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)

Sliding Off the Food Pyramid

By J’AMY PACHECO

Chances are, at some point in your educational experience, you came across mention of the “food pyramid.”

In the old days, the food pyramid sorted human nutritional needs into different groups: grains, fruits and vegetables, milk products, meats, and fats and sweets. Each group was displayed horizontally, and the pyramid was structured so that the foods one should eat most of — grains – appeared at the broad base of the pyramid. At the tiny, pointy top were the foods to be consumed in small quantities — fats and sweets.

Believe it or not, there is a whole government agency in charge of the food pyramid. And now, that agency has turned the food pyramid on its proverbial ear in an effort to help Americans adopt healthy eating habits.

When I say the US Department of Agriculture turned the pyramid on its proverbial ear, I’m not kidding. On its Website (http://www.mypyramid.gov), you can play a short animated movie in which a humanoid figure kicks the pyramid on its side to demonstrate this radical change in thinking.

The stripes — or “bands,” as the USDA calls them – now run vertically rather than horizontally. Each band has its own color, standing for the different food groups. Orange, for example, represents grains, while green represents vegetables.

Because the pyramid is…well, pyramid shaped, each band is wider at the bottom than at the top. The reason (besides the obvious shape-driven necessity) is to remind eaters to choose mostly foods without solid fats and added sugars.

I’m not sure how the width of a band’s base will remind eaters to do that, but it’s good to know.

Perhaps the most notable change is the addition of a stairway leading up one side of the pyramid. Its intent, as I understand it, is to emphasize the importance of combining healthy eating with a physically active lifestyle.

Sounds good to me.

Wanting to know more, I clicked on a button called “My Pyramid Plan.” After asking my age and gender, it asked how much exercise I do on a daily basis. When I chose the “less than 30 minutes” option, it recommended I consume six ounces of grains, two and a half cups of vegetables, a cup and a half of fruit, three cups of milk and five ounces of meat or beans.

If I lied and said I exercised between 30 and 60 minutes each day, I gained half a cup of fruit and a half-ounce of meat or beans.

If I REALLY lied and said I was a 25-year-old female who exercised more than hour a day, my grains went up to eight ounces, and my vegetables up to three cups. Milk stayed at three cups.

Oddly enough, nowhere did it recommend I eat my favorite See’s key lime truffles.

Now, this sounds well and good, but truthfully, I never quite know what to make of all this. Do they really expect me to drink three cups of milk every day? I can’t remember the last time I drank a single glass of the stuff, let alone three cups. But I do like ice cream, and I wonder how a scoop of ice cream fits into the mix.

I also like pepperoni pizza. But what kind of food is that? I assume the crust is in the grain stripe, but what about the sauce? Does it count as a vegetable? Then there’s the pepperoni. Is that meat? A fat? Does anybody really know what’s in pepperoni?

Those questions took me to a linked 80-page publication, “Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.” The thought of having to read 80 pages about diet is enough to make anybody hungry, but fortunately, there was an executive summary.

In a nutshell, it advised eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and avoiding fats. Exercise is a must, and salt intake should be kept under one teaspoon daily. Thrown in for good measure was advice to brush your teeth, wash your hands and limit your intake of — or avoid — alcoholic beverages.

On the Website, there are tips for eating healthy while eating out (start with a salad) and sample menus for eating healthy at home.

Most important, there is information about what risks we run by NOT following these guidelines: diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer and, of course, not looking good in a bathing suit.

Check it out. It may change your life — or at least the way you look at pepperoni.