It's holiday season and the dishes we are offered can make it very difficult to consume healthy foods, let alone stay within the portion control guidelines. Grandma's Kitchen Recipes wanted to share this educational article. Consider this another cooking class, where I impart information. Perhaps my research will give you a hand in defeating some of the temptations that will be thrust upon you.
The History of the USDA Food Pyramid
When Grandma's Kitchen Recipes started researching this subject I had no idea that the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) had been educating this country on the subject of a healthy diet for over 100 years. It all began when an agricultural chemist, Wilbur Olin Atwater, PH.D ., wrote the first guidelines in 1894. Dr. Atwater received government funds to study human metabolism. His study emphasized the importance of variety, proportion and moderation in the diets of American males. His research found that the calorie was a means to measure the efficiency of a diet. Dr. Atwater also found that different types of food produce different types of energy.
In 1917 Caroline Hunt, a nutritionist, wrote the first USDA guidelines entitled “How to Select Foods.” Caroline Hunt introduced the first recommended 5 food groups. Her guidelines were:
* Milk and meat
* Cereals
* Vegetables and fruit
* Fats and fatty foods
* Sugars and sugary foods
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) was released from the National Academy Sciences and the USDA changed their recommendations again. Then in 1946 it created the National Wartime Nutrition Guide which offered 7 food groups that supported RDA requirements:
1. * Milk and milk products
2. * Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, peas and nuts
3. * Bread, flour and cereals
4. * Leafy green and yellow vegetables
5. * Potatoes and sweet potatoes
6. * Citrus, tomato, cabbage, salad greens
7. * Butter, fortified margarine
In the 1960’s and 1970’s papers were written, and research done on the dietary fat in our diets. In January, 1977 the Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs published a paper that recommended that all American’s reduce their fat, saturated fat and cholesterol consumption, and increase their carbohydrate consumption to 55-60% of daily calories. When the guidelines were released the cattle, egg and dairy industry went ballistic. Congress was, in essence, telling the public that animal products were bad for you. Because of the fall out the committee was forced to revise it’s report, but the damage had been done to the American meat, egg and milk industry.
The USDA stayed neutral for many years and did not adopt a new guideline until 1990. The food pyramid that we are so familiar with was released in 1992. In 2005 a person climbing the stairs of the pyramid was added to the pyramid logo. Then in 2010 the food pyramid was revised again. This pyramid was broken down in to 8 divisions:
* Physical activity
* Grains, recommending that at least half of the grains being consumed be whole grains
* Vegetables, emphasizing dark green vegetables, orange vegetables, and dry beans and peas
* Fruits, emphasizing a variety of fruits, less emphasis on fruit juices
* Oils, recommending fish, nut and vegetable sources
* Milk, a category that includes both milk and dairy products
* Meat and beans, emphasizing low-fat and lean meats such as fish as well as more beans, peas, nuts and seeds
* Discretionary calories-those calories that are not identified in other groups such as candy, or alcohol. This section is the smallest of all 8 sections.
Now in June 2, 2011 the USDA launched “My Plate.” Other governments and organizations have developed similar guidelines and plate design such as: The UK’s Eatwell Plate, Austrailian Guide to Healthy Eating and the American Diabetes Association’s Create Your Plate system. The guidelines for the “My Plate” icon are as follows:
* 30% grains
* 30% vegetables
* 20% fruits
* 20% protein
So now, as you can see, our pyramid has turned into our plate. And healthy nutrition is as simple as looking at your plate. Remember, if you are diabetic cooking, you still need to follow the food group portion sizes for your particular caloric diet. Grandma's Kitchen Recipes will be talking about “My Plate” and how you can easily fit it into your lifestyle in later issues. Grandma's Kitchen Recipes will show you how to prepare recipes that will keep you in the guidelines recommended. Until then, remember "my plate" and……cooking class dismissed!
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