Off Balance

Confused by the latest food pyramid? Join the club.

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Whoever coined the adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” presumably didn’t work for a government agency. Not that it’s bad advice—especially if you consider the apple’s role in boosting the immune system and lowering cholesterol.

Regardless, a 2008 study by the American Dietetic Association suggests that the federal government could do a better job with its dietary guidelines. Among those surveyed, 41 percent conceded they might try to eat right if they understood more about nutrition. In short, many of us are confused about the food groups (the latest food pyramid has six), and we avoid worrying about things like portion size and daily caloric intake if it’s going to be a lot of work.

To maintain a well-balanced diet, we’re told to eat foods from each of the six food groups—grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk and meat, and beans. But who has the time to keep tabs on whether they’re eating two cups of fruit a day, along with two-and-a-half cups of vegetables and 3 or more ounces of whole grains? You remember the slice of pizza you had for lunch—not that it took up most of the plate. It’s no wonder registered dietitians like Christine Hurley resort to body parts for clarity—a clenched fist equals a cup, an open palm is one serving of red meat or chicken.

“Many people know that breakfast is important, but they may not think about timing or portion,” says Hurley, who sees about 60 patients a week at Bryn Mawr Hospital’s Newtown Square campus, all of them referred to her through Main Line Health’s Diabetes and Nutrition Management centers. “When you wake up, your brain is saying, ‘Where’s my glucose?’ It needs that little shot of sugar every four or five hours.”

Making sense of “glycemic load,” “body mass index” and “dietary reference index” is crucial if you have a pre-diabetic condition and are susceptible to severe fatigue and drops in blood sugar levels. All three terms appear in Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the official guide to healthy eating published every five years by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. The 2010 edition is still in the works. The food pyramid was revised in the 2005 version, which also recommends fewer calories and “smarter” food choices like whole fruits over fruit juice and whole-wheat bread instead of white.

The most recent recommendations have received mixed reviews from the ADA and other health advocacy groups. Some like the fact that they stress the equal importance of each food group. Others question why daily servings were removed in favor of vague terms like “know the limits on fats, sugars and salt (sodium).”

Still others contend that the food pyramid—which comes in 12 versions—and the accompanying guidelines are too overwhelming for the average American. In recent years, we’ve all heard about the brain’s “craving” center, good and bad cholesterol, and the saturated fats that can either help or hinder protein-carrying molecules in the bloodstream. Then there’s the list of formerly bad foods made good. Who would’ve thought that chocolate—at least the dark, “true organic” kind—is actually good for you? In case you haven’t heard, it’s the stuff with the most cacao beans, which enhance mood and cognitive function.

But you don’t need a calculator, a scale or a pair of reading glasses to learn how to eat healthy. You simply need to know how your lifestyle affects your nutrition. “Timing is huge,” Hurley says. “I ask everyone who comes in here what time they get up, what time they go to bed, and when they have breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
 

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