The New Food Pyramid is out, but on cursory inspection, it looks like nothing has fundamentally changed in regards to acceptable carbohydrate levels. The only things they have changed are:
- Eat whole rather than refined grains (what does this mean? read below)
- Eat whole fruits rather than juice (except orange juice for the potassium etc.) (about time they stated this one! Apple juice is just pure sugar!)
- Slow down on the sugars
- Sugar (fermentable carbohydrates) rot your teeth
- Exercise until you drop (at least 30 minutes a day for everyone and 60 to 90 minutes a day if you want to lose or sustain weight loss) (I lost weight with no exercise... now, while not good, at least I lost it.)
- Most fat is bad, saturated fat (still not definitive when you reduce carbohydrates), trans fat (agreed) and most fat should be polyunsaturated or monounsaturated (this is an improvement over past reports -- some fats are good for you.) However, cheese is very, very, very bad for you (tsk, tsk) unless it is low fat cheese because that is where most Americans get their saturated fat.
- Carry around an alchemical calculator to balance your fat/sugar intake:
Total discretionary calories should not exceed the allowance for any given calorie level, as shown in the USDA Food Guide (see ch. 2). The discretionary calorie allowance covers all calories from added sugars, alcohol, and the additional fat found in even moderate fat choices from the milk and meat group. For example, the 2,000-calorie pattern includes only about 267 discretionary calories. At 29 percent of calories from total fat (including 18 g of solid fat), if no alcohol is consumed, then only 8 teaspoons (32 g) of added sugars can be afforded. This is less than the amount in a typical 12-ounce calorically sweetened soft drink. If fat is decreased to 22 percent of calories, then 18 teaspoons (72 g) of added sugars is allowed. If fat is increased to 35 percent of calories, then no allowance remains for added sugars, even if alcohol is not consumed
As far as I can see, the only good things out of this report are the first four points. Granted, I am in a lousy mood and I only took a quick read of the report, and I know I shouldn't be disappointed. Accepted practices don't change very quickly, especially when even Duke diet doctors say that they would rather have people go on the diets that they know (what works for you comes secondary... only if all else fails.)
So, read the new FDA pyramid yourself.
But the difference between whole grain bread and refined grain bread is a big one. It must say "whole grain" on the ingredient list. Here is a great article that goes into the whole grain versus refined grain in depth.
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