The New Pyramid
Vege Lenny
can check them out at http://www.mypyramid.gov
Here are my Positive and Negative views on them:
POSITIVES:
1. Staircase- like the integration of physical activity into the
pyramid.
2. Calorie Levels- Like that their are custom pyramids for different
calorie levels
3. Fruits and Veges- Like that they are promoting lots.
4. Serving Sizes- conversion to real measures, instead of Tablespoons,
etc.
5. Colors- very pretty!
NEGATIVES:
1. Confusing- What do all these damn colors mean? It took me a few
minutes navigating their website to figure out what they correspond to.
And beans are under the "vegetables" and "meat and beans" category?
The pyramid should be a clear visual description of what to eat that
can be plastered on things.
2. What do I eat? The old pyramid had pictures of what to actually eat
(although it was mostly inaccurate). This one has no pictures. Other
countries use a food plate to show you what your plate should look
like.
3. Internet- I love the internet. But a lot of people don't have good
access to it, especially those who need the pyramid the most. This
pyramid is very web-based which doesn't make it easily accessible to a
lot of people because the pyramid isn't really all it's meant to be
without mypyramid.gov
4. Milk- Again they put a lot of emphasis on milk, with few studies
supporting milk as a very important essential drink for the average
American. But that's a topic for another discussion.
Overall rating: 4/10, but what did you expect from a governmental
institution that caters to the food industry?
TIP: Try using the Harvard Pyramid to model your daily eating:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/pyramids.html