Sometimes these so-called health “experts” just can’t seem to leave well enough alone. Earlier this year the USDA released their long-awaited 2010 Dietary Guidelines that totally ignored low-carb nutrition. Even one of the Scientific Advisory Committee members who chaired the carbohydrate committee said at a conference in Israel in May 2011 that “there is no scientific basis” for the nutritional guidelines being thrust upon the American people. Is it any wonder why nobody in the real world seems to take these people seriously anymore? Sadly, though, many still do–including government programs such as WIC, school lunches, food stamps, military allowances for food, foster care nutrition guidelines, nutritional labeling and more (see the entire list of government programs that follow the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines here).
Then in May 2011, the USDA decided to come out with a replacement to the archaic Food Pyramid (which had been an abysmal failure in helping Americans eat better) by creating a seemingly more simplistic new (but really not-so-new) image they call MyPlate (which we discussed in Episode 13 of the “Low-Carb Conversations” podcast). Just in case you haven’t been paying attention and missed this marvel of nutritional wisdom (tongue planted firmly in cheek), check this out:
Fruits? Is that any old fruit like a banana? Vegetables? Do white potatoes count in that category? Grains? Somebody up there at the USDA desperately needs to read Wheat Belly. Protein? I bet they meat chicken, turkey and other “lean” meats and not a big fatty steak. Who knows? Dairy? They’re not talking about full-fat cheese or even raw milk here. The big missing element in this supposed improvement to the Food Pyramid is fat. Where is it? How much should you eat? What kind of all these generic food categories are people intended to consume?
These are the questions that the Harvard School of Public Health attempted to answer with the release of their brand new “Healthy Eating Plate.” Yes, folks, we have yet ANOTHER food plate to examine. When I first saw this plate from Harvard, the first thing I noticed is there was more specificity about what people should be eating. Here’s what it looks like:
Do you notice anything different from the USDA’s MyPlate aside from the greater detail about how to eat? It includes “healthy oils” but says to limit butter. Why? What’s unhealthy about butter?
On vegetables, they say to eat to your heart’s content except for potatoes. That’s pretty good. Regarding fruits, they note to “eat plenty” which is a terrible idea if your body is sensitive to the sugar in them. And what’s to stop somebody from eating tons of high-sugar fruits?
Again we have the whole grains on the plate with the caveat to limit refined grains like white rice and white bread. How about NO grains instead? Healthy protein is listed as opposed to just protein. What do they mean by that? Fish, poultry, beans and nuts. As for red meat, it should be limited according to Harvard. And by all means, don’t you dare touch bacon, cold cuts or processed meats. They’re forbidden.
Finally, instead of dairy, they promote the consumption of water, tea or coffee with “little or no sugar” in them, 1-2 servings milk/dairy daily, and 1 small glass of juice daily. I laughed when I saw “avoid sugary drinks” right after the recommendation to drink juice. Ummm, isn’t that sugary? Finally, the small little running man logo in the lower left-hand corner that says “STAY ACTIVE!” is supposed to promote some form of exercise. Not bad in and of itself considering the USDA didn’t even mention exercise.
Harvard has posted a comparison of their “Healthy Eating Plate” vs. the USDA’s MyPlate” if you want to contrast the major differences between the two. But in all honesty, the Harvard plate is only marginally better than the USDA’s version. What about people like me and so many of my readers who are metabolically deranged and/or diabetic (both Type 1 and Type 2) and have to eat a carbohydrate-restricted diet? Sure, the Harvard plate limits carbohydrates more than the USDA plate does, but it still pushes grains, all kinds of vegetables (that may or may not be good for your body) and unlimited fruit (with insulin raising and blood sugar-spiking effects).
Plus, cutting out the major source of fuel for the body when you restrict carbohydrates in your diet–that would be dietary fat, especially saturated fat–is a one-way ticket to discouragement and failure on your low-carb lifestyle. Your body thrives on butter, red meat (especially grass-fed and wild game), and high-fat dairy. Limiting these foods is completely unnecessary and will not improve your health one iota. I would argue adding back in these foods will make you healthier by increasing your HDL cholesterol, lowering your triglycerides, and significantly decreasing the number of Small LDL particles in your body. That’s what livin’ la vida low-carb does for your health better than any of these silly food plates ever will.
Mindy Noxon Iannotti, my awesome co-host on the “Low-Carb Conversations” podcast, came up with her own version of this plate idea by creating an LCHF Plate for those following a low-carb, high-fat eating plan:
This is probably closer to the way most of my readers eat than anything we’ve seen from the USDA or Harvard. And it the reality of how we HAVE to eat if we’re going to remain healthy with the current state of metabolic disorder we find ourselves in. If everyone was perfectly healthy with no past issues with obesity, diabetes, or other chronic diseases, then perhaps the Harvard plan would be an option for people. But it is still unnecessarily fat-phobic. These lipophobes needs to hear from those of us who have had our health changed for the better by eating MORE fat in our diets while cutting the carbs. And now you have an opportunity to do just that!
The Harvard School of Public Health is hosting a LIVE one-hour Q&A session about the “Healthy Eating Plate” with Dr. Eric Rimm, associate professor in the departments of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard, on Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 2:30PM EST. You must SIGN UP to be a part of this discussion that is happening tomorrow. Dr. Rimm was one of the people responsible for creating the “Healthy Eating Plate” and he wants to hear YOUR feedback about it. If you are unable to attend the event when it takes place, then they have two other ways you can submit your questions: E-mail them to communications@hsph.harvard.edu or submit them on Twitter using the hashtag #platetalk.
We have an opportunity here to possibly influence and sway Harvard health experts about something they may have missed in the creation of their “Healthy Eating Plate.” To that end, I’d like to request that if you contact Dr. Rimm by attending his Q&A session tomorrow, e-mail him questions, or tweet your feedback, then please send me a copy of the question(s) you send to livinlowcarbman@charter.net. We will NOT be ignored because this issue is far too important for the Harvard School of Public Health to simply cast aside what we have to say about what healthy eating looks like. Here are some sample questions that have already been submitted to Dr. Rimm:
- Is the Q&A session simply to explain your position or can your position change based on information or needs from the questions? Is the Harvard Plate set in stone? Is this the final word?
- What evidence are you using to support your statement that people need to “limit red meat and to avoid bacon?” Is this recommendation based solely on epidemiological surveys or is there actual controlled research to support your recommendations? Do you mean to say to avoid the nitrates and other chemical additives in processed meats? Some processed meats do not contain these substances and are purely meat.
- In deciding that we needed a quarter of our plate dedicated to brown grain and brown starches, could Dr. Rimm explain what the thinking was, considering the growing clinical rather than epidemiological evidence of the link between the intake of starch (albeit brown or white) and obesity? In particular I’m referring to the Gardner Study from Stanford. If the fear is of lack of fiber or nutrients in the diet forcing Dr. Rimm to recommend starch then surely the high levels of vegetables, now recommended, would deal more than adequately with this fear?
- Carbohydrates appear to occupy about 75% of Harvard’s New Healthy Eating Plate. How can you justify this?
- I would love to know why 23 million diabetics (including children, including type 1s and type 2s) are ignored in the Harvard recommendations.
These are merely the tip of the iceberg of the many questions surrounding the Harvard “Healthy Eating Plate” and now it’s YOUR turn to get in on the action. Sign up for the limited Q&A session, e-mail them, or tweet using hashtag #platetalk and don’t forget to copy me on your questions and comments.
If you are a blogger, on Twitter/Facebook or anywhere else online, then considering writing something about this TODAY to help get the word out. This is a really big chance to possibly make a difference if we truly care about this message we talk about here. My blogging friend JP Fanton from “Healthy Fellow” has already gotten in on the action and so should YOU! Send me the link to your post when you write about this and I’ll add it to the end of this post. MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD! Let Dr. Rimm and his fellow nutrition “experts” at Harvard know that you have serious reservations about what they have come up with as ideal dietary recommendations for Americans to follow to improve their weight and health.
BLOGGERS SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THIS:
JP Fanton
Fred Hahn
Dr. Richard Feinman
Joe Lindley
Linda Riddle
Add YOUR name to this list by sending me the link to your post about it!
