December Skyline at Twilight
Food Pyramids: What They Are and Why You Should Avoid Them
A “food pyramid” is a set of dietary guidelines designed to provide optimal nutrition for U.S. citizens. There are two primary food pyramids in use today:
1. The Improved American Food Guide Pyramid published by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1992 (click on image to enlarge)
2. The Healthy Eating Pyramid developed by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2001 as a response to – and criticism of – the USDA’s food pyramid (click on image to enlarge)
As a counter-response, the USDA teamed up with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and developed the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 2005 along with its new public health initiative, the MyPyramid.gov website.
The USDA/HSS MyPyramid.gov website has received more than 5.7 billion hits and averages over 750,000 page views each day. So while the Harvard healthy eating pyramid enjoyed a brief surge of popularity, it was quickly eclipsed by the newly-revised U.S. government food pyramid which has become the dominant nutritional framework in use today.
The key point to emphasize here is that the current 2005 Dietary Guidelines (and by extension the MyPyramid website and food recommendations) have been very influential in shaping public policy.
And the upcoming 2010 Dietary Guidelines will be especially critical in helping shape any governmental health care reform.
So what can we expect in 2010?
Based on the advisory committee meetings to date, grain-based carbohydrates will continue to be a substantial element of the 2010 Guidelines with a continued de-emphasis on consuming animal-based products such as meats, eggs, and saturated fats. In fact, all recommendations with regards to animal protein will now be made by the newly formed Carbohydrates and Protein Subcommittee (formerly just the Carbohydrate Committee).
Given this, I believe we can expect the following:
- An increased emphasis on complex, “nutrient-rich” carbohydrates
- An increased emphasis on high fiber food sources
- An increased emphasis on plant-based proteins
- A decreased emphasis on animal-based proteins
In other words, more beans and soy, less meat and eggs, and plenty of bad carbohydrates as long as they’re the “whole grain” variety.
The key takeaway here is that the USDA/HSS Guidelines and resulting food pyramid are the products of scientists, nutrition experts, staff members, and consultants with specific political and research agendas. And just as important, many of these individuals are subjected to intense lobbying efforts from a variety of food industries.
Bottom line, don’t look to the USDA/HSS food pyramid to necessarily offer the best advice on how to optimize your nutrition and health – especially since it’s coming from a committee that talks about how it “needs to develop a new way to frame messages about carbohydrates.”
And Yet Even More Things We Needn’t Worry About at Ladder #1
I was out of town all week for the Christmas holiday, so I couldn’t update the site every day. Nevertheless, I was diligently working on your behalf to scout out potential swim sites. Here’s a really neat swimming hole in south Florida that I think you all should check out:
Happy 80th Birthday Paul!
Paul Meador, a long time Ladder #1 stalwart, turns 80 years young today. Per Dave:
Paul has been guarding Ladder #1 at Oak Street Beach for at least 78 years (I have seen the photo of Paul with his father [at the lake] when he was two years old).
Congrats Paul!
A Short Term “Fix” for Celiac Disease
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in people who have an adverse reaction to a gluten protein which is typically found in wheat, but is also present in barley and rye. In other words, the presence of this gluten protein in a person’s diet causes the individual’s immune system to turn against his or her own cells and tissues.
Not good.
The most simple and effective way to successfully combat celiac disease is to eliminate all sources of gluten from a person’s diet. In other words, eliminate grain products altogether.
This seemingly drastic tactic actually makes perfect sense from an evolutionary health standpoint. After all, grains only recently entered the human diet some 10,000 years ago – and we have yet to fully adapt to them. In fact, there’s quite a solid argument to be made that grains are inherently unhealthy to human beings.
So given this evidence, why does the scientific and medical community continue to advocate coming up with a short-term “medical fix” for celiac diease?
Ultimately, celiac patients may be able to take a pill before a meal so they could, for example, have stuffing with their holiday turkey. Or, as is Anderson’s goal, they could go for a series of treatments similar to allergy shots that would teach their immune systems to tolerate gluten.
The key is, there is no real fix for many of the maladies caused by grain consumption other than to purge them from your diet altogether. And despite what your doctor, trainer, or nutritionist tells you, it is quite possible to thrive as a human animal without ingesting one iota of any grain-based product.
After all, we’ve been doing it for millions of years…
Swim Report – December 20, 2009 – A New Sub-35F Lake Monster!
Believe it or not, I was elated when I arrived out at the swim site. Although the air temperature was a crisp 27F, the waves had subsided considerably from yesterday, and there was no wind whatsoever. So we had a pretty calm lake to swim in with just some very mild rollers.
The water temperature came in at a cool 34F which meant that it was actually warmer to go swimming than to loiter around on dry land. Carol and her husband Paul arrived shortly after I scoped out the swim site, and we suited up in the parking lot. Paul shot a bunch of video clips which we plan to use for our Suit Juice video. (BTW, big kudos goes out to Paul for stepping up and manning the cameras!).
Carol and I descended into the icy lake water and swam out to the 1/8 mile mark. The wetsuits and thermo gear were holding out okay, but the water was pretty intense on the exposed areas of our face. We opted to do a quick-paced 1/4 mile and then horse around a bit by Ladder #1. But one thing is clear – Carol officially joined the ranks of the much-coveted sub-35F club! (congrats!)
Here are a few shots of this morning’s swim along with a rather entertaining video clip. As you can see, we try not to take ourselves too seriously!
Ladder #1 in December
Carol and yours truly
Carol and Paul
Fun with Suit Juice
Yet More Things We Don’t Have to Worry About at Ladder #1
Sure, Lake Michigan gets pretty darn cold at times. But that helps keep out the riff raff – both the animal and human varieties. So when you find yourself looking with envy at other swim sites around the world, just remember that we don’t have to contend with:
Or soulless, parasitic lampreys:
The Continuing Case Against the Statin/LDL Treatment Standard
Following up on Wednesday’s post, here’s an excerpt from the November Science Daily article, “Three Killer Indicators Identified That Are Even Worse Than High Cholesterol”:
The main five health problems normally associated with metabolic syndrome are abnormal levels of blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels (the chemical form in which fat exists in the body), too much sugar in the blood and central obesity (excess of fat around the waistline).
In his study, published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, Dr. Franco has identified the most dangerous combination of these conditions to be central obesity, high blood pressure and high blood sugar [ed. - emphasis mine]. People who have all three of these conditions are twice as likely to have a heart attack and three times more likely to die earlier than the general population.
In other words, optimizing blood sugar levels – which in turn manage central obesity and blood pressure levels – is far more important than optimizing cholesterol levels in preventing heart attacks.
And this makes sense. Both excessive glucose levels and excessive insulin levels are inflammatory to the body as a whole. Since statins have no direct effect on modulating blood sugar levels (and insulin levels by default), they really don’t have much of an impact on controlling overall systemic inflammation. Sure, they reduce the levels of C-reactive protein. But they also deplete the levels of coenzyme Q10 – a natural antioxidant that is critical to cell energy metabolism and is – ironically – very cardioprotective.
Nevertheless, statins are very often one of the first things to be prescribed to individuals with a “perceived risk” of developing metabolic syndrome. In fact, many physicians will recommend statins to patients with LDL cholesterol levels above 100 mg/dL since anything above this is considered “near optimal but still potentially at risk” according to the very same American Heart Association’s 2003 recommendations.
The key is, much of the current conventional wisdom regarding cholesterol and its relationship to heart disease is in the process of being turned on its head. And this is generating significant pushback from both small and large industry players who have significant “skin in the game.”
Remember, medicine isn’t an exact science. And it wasn’t that long ago that a number of doctors downplayed the health hazards of smoking.
A Message From Jack LaLanne
Fitness legend Jack LaLanne – who turned 95 in October – recently had heart valve surgery. Given his excellent physical health, he is expected to make a quick and full recovery.
Just in case you needed more motivation this morning, here’s a prophetic clip from Jack himself from a show that aired over 50 years ago:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4tpGx0mrTk&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
