New MyPlate Replaces Old Pyramid (updated)

The old Food Pyramid is now a plate.

There is going to be a lot of confusion over this, as by showing a plate, people, instinctively, will assume it is what their daily meals should look like when it is not the case.

However, looking at the pyramid design, it looks horrible and do not support any information or eating habit.

I believe they should work harder.
What do you think?

Once again, this ‘Food Plate’ is here to change Americans eating habit and should only be observed by concerned people. In Europe we have our own Food Pyramid and it is a personal matter that each and everybody should follow. Obese people know what they have to do in order to loose weight (they are usually followed by professional practitioners); however, it is the health conscious that would be more likely to follow those new directives and trend.

For more info watch the ABC NEWS videos:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/food-pyramid-food-plate/story?id=13743137&sms_ss=email&at_xt=4de7c042751b5263%2C0
(watch interview with Paediatric Nutritionist Doctor Keith Ayoob and White House Chef Sam Kass)

They say that MyPlate gives a better idea of proportion; However it only shows proportions (percentages in the form of triangle shapes) of food group and not the proportion of food that American should eat in one single plate. If the meal is still XXL there will be no point at following the new MyPlate icon, as more calories are consumed than burnt.

This is the single point missing: People should consume (daily) less or about the same amount of calories they burn.  Meaning, Athlete should eat more than sedentary people (inactive people with little exercising to none), with increased protein intake (to regenerate and repair damaged muscles) and water (to keep hydrated), while inactive people should concentrate on eating more raw vegetables, and avoid empty-calorie* fats and carbohydrates as much as possible (fats and vegetable/seed oils, except Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO - well documented health benefits when consumed raw† in good measure) should be replaced by nuts (75g/week is recommended). 
Oils contained inside nuts is nutrient-dense: it contains precious Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 in ideal proportions, Various essentials minerals and vitamins, including vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that helps keep your body healthy by reducing risk of heart disease, cholesterol and Diabetes).


How do you think MyPlate Icon compares to our own Food Pyramid in European Countries?
Do you think the MyPlate Icon is implementable into European Countries Eating Habits?
Do you think it will work?

More and more studies demonstrate that everyone react to grains in some ways, that gluten is not the only culprit in gut irritation and inflammation, and autoimmunity, that all grains contains gluten. Despite called under different, the molecule remains the same. A protein at the core of the grain, let it be rice or corn, will generate a reaction and, potentially, increase gut permeability, opening the door to various inflammatory conditions such as joint pain, brain fog and hormonal imbalances. 

So should we really eat grains at every meal, snacks and other treats?

The typical diet includes breakfast (grain and excessive amounts of sugar-containing) cereals, mid-morning snacks (biscuits, chocolate bars, laden with sugar and more often than not, grains), lunch made of a sandwich, crisps, and a soda (or a typical MyPlate restaurant lunch, and may be, for the health conscious, sushi made of farmed fish and refined rice), a pick-me-up snack (biscuits with coffee or tea, with sugar and conventional milk/cream, and for the others may be GMO or highly-processed soya milk), and for dinner, a large plate of pasta or a pizza. And then to finish it up, may be a movie treat, let it be popcorn or crackers (or worse, sugar-in-the-form-of-gummy-bears). 

There you have it: the MyPlate or typical SAD (Standard American Diet) or MAD (Modern American Diet) diet!

Is this really a healthy diet, a new combination destined to lower the metabolic pandemic? 
I personally believe it is what keeps people unwell and addicted to food and sedentary.

 
* Empty-calories are food items that have a very high amount of calories, yet have few or no nutrient at all (Ice-Cream, Soda Drinks, Oils, especially refined vegetable oils and deep-frying oils). Meaning by consuming such fats or food items you consume a higher part of your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA /RNI) with very little benefits to your body, if none, from the food itself.

† You should never heat or fry with Olive Oil, especially Extra Virgin Olive Oil, as residues of fruits inside oil will burn and all health benefits will be lost, plus research suggests that burnt olive oil increases the risk of cancer.  

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References:
The New England Journal of Medicine, 1996. Archives of Internal Medicine, July 1992. News release, FDA. Frank Hu, MD, PhD, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health. Maureen Ternus, MS, RD, nutrition coordinator, International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation. Kris-Etherton, et al.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; December 1999. Hu, F. and Willett, W.
The Journal of the American Medical Association, Nov. 27, 2002. Jiang et al.
The Journal of the American Medical Association, Nov. 27, 2002.
British Medical Journal, Nov. 14, 1998. Lopez et al.
Diabetes Care, January 2004. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan. 5, 2005.