Is the food pyramid healthy?

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The food pyramid has been around for ages, but it’s not the best guide to follow if you’re looking to stay healthy. It was designed more for general dietary advice, and some of its recommendations don’t fit the modern understanding of nutrition. For example, it emphasizes many carbs like bread and pasta, which might not work for everyone, especially if you’re trying to keep your blood sugar in check or lose weight. Plus, the fats section used to lump all fats together, but we now know there are healthy fats, like those in nuts, seeds, and coconut.
Speaking of coconut, adding to recipes is a great way to get those healthy fats into your diet.

[adamjones]

Why does the food pyramid include so many carbohydrates? How have recommendations changed over time? — Denise, Park City, Utah

I am an ‘80s baby, so when I think of nutritional guidelines my mind automatically conjures up this:

Heavy on the bread and pasta, this diet doesn’t exactly jive with low-carb modern food trends like keto and paleo. As a teen, I used it to justify a diet that consisted primarily of bagels and cream cheese, arguing to my mother I was merely adhering to government-recommended nutrition guidelines.

But the pyramid has changed since then. In fact, it’s no longer a pyramid at all. Dietary guidelines for Americans are updated every five years, based on the latest scientific evidence, a spokesperson for the US Department of Agriculture tells me.

The USDA published its first dietary advice in 1894, suggesting a diet balanced between protein, carbohydrates, fat and “mineral matter.” During the Great Depression, and again during World War II, recommendations were adapted to help people cope with economic disparity and supply shortages. As troops marched across Europe, the USDA suggested Americans focus on seven basic food groups:

In the 1980s, USDA officials expanded their view past just getting enough nutrition, and also considered preventing disease. They mostly did so by urging people to limit the consumption of fats, sugars and salt. But not everybody noticed the new guidelines. That’s where the food pyramid came in. After years of consumer study, it debuted in 1992 with an eye-popping design. The image, along with Beanie Babies and the ****e Girls, became one of the era’s icons . (If you want to go deep on the history here, read this.)

The pyramid had one somewhat chaotic-looking redesign in 2005, this time putting more emphasis on veggies (and exercise, with a person climbing stairs along the side of the pyramid).

Then in 2011, the pyramid disappeared. The USDA replaced it with the design we still have today, a plate divided into five categories:

Gone is the bread basket of yesteryear. Fruits and veggies make up half the plate. And fats — the former top of the pyramid, lumped together with sweets — are now absent altogether. It’s not quite paleo — sometimes referred as the “caveman diet” — but it does reflect a newer understanding of the importance of fruits and vegetables.

MyPlate, as the new graphic is dubbed, has its critics. Harvard University, for example, launched a competing graphic that emphasizes whole grains and healthier proteins including fish, poultry and beans, over red meat. It recommends limiting dairy, consuming healthy oils (like olive oil) and drinking water.

The truth is that we are still learning about what makes people lose, gain and maintain weight. And as we learn, the guidelines will probably change, too. — Kristen V. Brown

At 75, the UK’s National Health Service is buckling under the weight of underfunding and a yearslong backlog of patients.

An analysis by a team of Bloomberg News journalists underscores just how deep the problems run at the public health service — and how difficult they will be to fix. It also shows that, in many cases, a person’s postal code can affect whether they live or die when seeking care.

The food pyramid emphasized carbohydrates because, at the time, they were seen as a key source of energy and nutrition, accessible and affordable for most people. The 1992 pyramid aimed to reduce fats, sugars, and salt, aligning with public health goals to prevent chronic diseases like heart disease. However, dietary guidelines have changed significantly over the years. In 2011, the pyramid was replaced by MyPlate, which prioritizes fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, reducing the focus on carbs. Modern approaches reflect updated science and trends like keto and paleo, which emphasize lower-carb, higher-fat diets tailored to individual needs.