Building A Better Food Pyramid

The food pyramid is actually designed to make consuming options as straightforward as possible, reports healthcare correspondent Dr. Emily Senay about Thursday's the Early Show.

As it stands now, from underneath are generally meals we must eat probably your most of: breads, cereal, rice and pasta, shifting approximately lesser levels of fruits along with vegetables, and on approximately even lesser amounts of dairy along with protein. From the top are generally foods that should become eaten just sparingly: fats, oils and sweets. Dr. Walter Willett with the Harvard school involving Public Well Being says your pyramid needs a radical overhaul.

"The present meals pyramid really is virtually useless, and then for a few people, it could really be dangerous", says Dr. Willett. "Some individuals who stick in order to the pyramid and stop trying most types of excess fat inside the diet program can sometimes be harming on their particular own since that they may be avoiding your healthy fats which help decrease cholesterol as well as assist inside preventing coronary heart disease."

Dr. Willet suggests the pyramid in which every day exercise will get probably the actual most emphasis, followed by plenty of excellent fats like plant oils, along with plenty regarding fiber-filled whole grains. Subsequent is actually veggies along with fruits. Then comes protein inside the kind of nuts along with legumes, and fish, poultry and also eggs. next can be dairy or calcium supplements. Unhealthier products such as red meat, butter, sweets, potatoes, white rice, white bread and also pasta should be eaten simply sparingly.

"What's truly essential is to emphasize healthy fats, wholesome carbohydrates along with deemphasize unhealthy fats and also unhealthy carbohydrates. The Actual present pyramid entirely fails to do that," Dr. Willet says.

That kind of speak provides a number of food lobbyists around the defensive. Changes towards the pyramid could place the potato in danger involving losing its prime spot at the bottom in the pyramid. Your U.S. Potato Board is actually lobbying to assist keep it there.

"We're in the vegetable group so we should stay in the vegetable team along with obviously individuals need to consume much more vegetables as well as fruit and potatoes are usually a fantastic approach to get that will done," says the particular Potato Board's Lisa Katic.

However, Dr. Willet disagrees. "The food pyramid really ought for you to be based around the greatest available scientific evidence," he says. "There's plenty of evidence now in which huge levels of carbohydrates - just like white bread as well as crackers along with pasta and also white rice along with potatoes - possess negative metabolic effects."



The USDA is actually checking the actual debate towards the public prior to making one last decision, expected early subsequent year. An advisory committee has advised that will much more exercise as well as fewer calories coming from unhealthy fats along with carbs and more of the healthy ones needs in order to be a component of a new pyramid. That They are also recommending much less salt. It seems that will adjust is inside the air.



A great deal of the particular emphasis is in weight control, simply because therefore many health conditions certainly are usually a consequence of weight. Thus it all comes back again to diet plan and exercise, maintaining power balance. We must burn off the particular calories we eat, thus exercise as well as part dimension are usually key.

The pyramid doesn't exclude the actual stuff that may be bad regarding you, that is realistic. "Use sparingly" indicates most individuals are represented and no meals needs to be completely eliminated.

Copyright 2004 CBS. Most rights reserved.