Last week, the Department of Agriculture released the new food pyramid.
Since I’ve been alive, we’ve had the food pyramid that most of us are familiar with and learned in school. Then in 2005 it changed to My Pyramid, which was a balanced approach to nutrition. Then in 2011, we did away with the food pyramid and focused on My Plate, a look at what your big meals should look like to stay healthy.
And now we’re back to the food pyramid, though inverted now and with different guidelines and priorities.
What’s Changed?
The look of the new pyramid isn’t the only thing that’s changed.
Now, everything at the top of the food pyramid is recommended in abundance. In the new pyramid this is your protein, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Whereas, in the original pyramid, the largest recommended food group, at the bottom of the pyramid, was grains and bread.
The new pyramid is protein focused. Previously, it was recommended to have 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day of protein. The new pyramid recommends 1.2 – 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
Previously, it was recommended to avoid or minimize full fat dairy and other healthy fats and saturated fats in your diet. Now, it’s recommended to have three servings of full fat dairy per day.
Sugar and alcohol recommendations have also changed. The new pyramid now recommends having no more than 10mg of sugar per meal. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 36g (or 36,000 mg) for men and 24g (or 24,000 mg) for women daily.
As for alcohol, the new pyramid states no amount of alcohol is safe, but if you are drinking, limiting women to 1 drink per day and men to 2 drinks per day.
What I think of these changes as a Hormone Health Coach and Nutrition Coach
Though I think there’s some good, like the focus on an abundance of greens, I don’t think the new food pyramid is helpful when it comes to diet and nutrition.
To start, I do like the focus on protein and fiber. This is key for hormone balance and general health. This approach is something I focus on with my own clients.
However, in my experience, a lot of the women I work with cannot tolerate an abundance of protein, especially red meat, even if they do incorporate red meat into their diets a couple times a week to support their iron levels.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), red meat is classified as a Group 2A carcinogen. Meaning there’s strong evidence that it can lead to some cancers in humans. In this case, it’s important to monitor your red meat intake, not have an abundance of it like the new pyramid is recommending.
I’m also not a fan of the higher prioritization of dairy. Most of the population that I work with cannot tolerate dairy or can only tolerate it in smaller quantities due to gut health concerns, acne, and more. Dairy is inflammatory to some and can cause worsened hormonal symptoms, digestive issues, and illness and disease.
Stemming off of this, most women I work with need a moderate amount of fat. However, higher fat causes digestive issues for them.
Though I agree that the focus should be on protein and fiber, I strongly believe that carbs – like whole grains – are important for every diet. Carbs are our brain food, our recovery, food for our hormones to thrive. In the new pyramid, carbs are at the very bottom. For some people, this may be great, but if you have hormonal symptoms, workout, or experience symptoms like brain fog, I’d prioritize (starchy and whole grain) carbs over a few of the other things in the middle of the new pyramid (red meat, higher fat, etc).
What I recommend instead
My true issue with the new pyramid is that it’s not extremely helpful when it comes to diet and nutrition – which are confusing enough for most people. I prefer My Plate to any of the food pyramids because it gives you an outline of what your big meal plates should look like.
It’s also important to fuel your body for your hormonal symptoms, your goals, and your workouts. The new food pyramid is missing bioindividuality and preferences. It feels more like an overarching statement for a certain population (cough, gym bros) instead of taking into account all populations (like women looking to support their hormones).
The new pyramid missing out on bioindividuality in nutrition is the problem. Bioindividuality states that everyone has their own unique nutrition and health needs based on their genetics, environment, lifestyle, and personal history.
Instead of cookie cutter programs or one size fits all approaches, bioindividuality recognizes different factors – like gut health, metabolism, activity levels, stress, and more – and how they influence your nutritional decisions, needs, and preferences.
Where the new pyramid falls short is it doesn’t take individual needs into account and it leaves people with more questions about how they should be eating, more gray areas with nutrition and what’s right for them, while encouraging eating behaviors that can be harmful to a large amount of the population.
It’s clear to me that the majority of the population wasn’t considered when making the new pyramid.
In conclusion…
Though the new food pyramid may be good for some populations, it is not for everyone. It’s important to take your goals, preferences, and your body’s feedback into consideration when creating a way of eating for yourself.
If you’re curious about your own bioindividual nutrition and want to know what that would look like for you and your goals, let’s schedule a free hormone analysis call to discuss!
