In an effort to simplify the message about healthy eating, the federal government today released a new icon to replace the complicated and confusing food pyramid: a plate divided into four sections of fruits and vegetables that make up half of the protein of the plate and grain and the other half. A circle of dairy products - which indicates a glass of milk or a yogurt container - is to the right of the plate.
"The new icon is simple and easy to understand with greater emphasis on fruits and vegetables," said U.S. Surgeon General M. Regina Benjamin said in a statement that reveals the symbol of the new plate. Is designed, he said, to "help people and families to make healthier food choices."
Outside experts generally agree that a plate is much better than a pyramid to help people visualize what the composition of meals should be similar. "I've been doing this for years with my clients - showing them how to divide your plate in half and plant proteins and grains and a half," said Joan Salge Blake, a registered dietitian at the University of Boston.
He added that it is a weight loss strategy that works very well for customers trying to lose weight and potentially could work for two-thirds of Americans are overweight. "The production is full of fiber and water before filling is completed," he said, as opposed to foods that are more dense in calories as meat and pasta.
Of course, looking at the symbol of the plate could make it difficult for Americans to determine what to eat. Have to click on each symbol in the website of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which designed to replace the motherboard of your pyramid - in order to identify the healthy proteins and whole grain choices.
Also, I see no room for dessert on the plate and does not refer to oils or fats in the diet of any kind. (Nuts and red meat both fall into the category of proteins.)
Some experts, however, still wonder why there is no effort being made that Americans are moving away from red meat as a healthy protein option in favor of, for example, nuts, fish and chicken.
While nutrition researcher Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, said the new board is "a step in the right direction" with "reasonable proportions," does not provide sufficient information to guide Americans really are. "They need simple information, but it is so simple that the most important information is lost."
The emphasis on a serving of milk at each meal, he added, is also "bad", as recent research suggests that increased calcium intake does little to prevent bone fractures in the future.
While expressing enthusiasm for the new plate in a press conference held at the USDA this morning, first lady Michelle Obama said that "the new icon is not the only thing to do" to combat obesity, but the government plans " create a momentum around 'my plate' with a coordinated strategy "to get Americans to move more and reduce your intake of sweets and junk food.
