6) CONTROLLING WEIGHT
f) USDA Food Pyramid
The Department of Agriculture has largely scrapped the old concept of a food "pyramid". Instead they now have "guidelines":
"The Dietary Guidelines, developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, represent the best, most current advice for healthy Americans 2 years and older. They reflect recommendations of health and nutrition "experts", who agree that enough is known about the effect of diet on health to encourage certain eating practices. The seven Dietary Guidelines are:
1, Eat a variety of foods to get the energy (calories), protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber you need for good health.
2, Maintain a healthy weight to reduce your chances of having high blood pressure, heart disease, a stroke, certain cancers, and the most common kind of diabetes.
3, Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol to reduce your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. Because fat contains more than twice the calories of an equal amount of carbohydrates or protein, a diet low in fat can help you maintain a healthy weight.
4, Choose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products that provide needed vitamins, minerals, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. They are generally lower in fat.
5, Use sugars only in moderation. A diet with lots of sugars has too many calories and too few nutrients for most people and can contribute to tooth decay.
6, Use salt and other forms of sodium only in moderation to help reduce your risk of high blood pressure.
7, If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation. Alcoholic beverages supply calories, but little or no nutrients. Drinking alcohol is also the cause of many health problems and accidents and can lead to addiction."If you want an individualized menu you can go to the following website and fill out the form for a "menu"; the United States Department of Agriculture at www.mypyramid.gov . This diet doesn't warn about the dangers of refined carbohydrates and doesn't emphasis calories in versus calories out for weight loss and we don't agree with the dependence on carbohydrates, so we don't recommend it for type 2 diabetes patients. But it has its good points.
It should be emphasized that it is a diet for everyone, not just the overweight and not just people with type 2 diabetes. So it comes up pretty short of a diet for the typical overweight person with type 2 diabetes. The USDA is also a government agency. As a government agency it is subject to the political pressures of the senators from the wheat, corn and beef states. And, unfortunately, its diet reflects that political reality. All-in all it is a pretty wishy washy diet plan which offends no one.
Current Chapter: 6) CONTROLLING WEIGHT
a) Introduction
b) What is "Overweight"
c) The Endless Cycles of an Overweight Person with Type 2 Diabetes
d) Food and Diet
e) Food "Rules"
f) USDA Food Pyramid
g) Adaptive Human Body
h) Timing of Meals
i) Serving Size
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