USDA MyPlate (2011)

From as early as the 1800s food guides have been in existence, and they still exist in abundance today.  The most widely known is the food guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture, which has seen multiple iterations itself.  For example, in 1992 it was the “Pyramid”, which depicted a tiered pyramid broken into food groups such as grains, protein, fruits and vegetables, dairy, and fats.  A little over a decade later, MyPyramid arrived, though the icon itself provided zero information about each food group’s proper nutrition (Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 2011).  In May of 2011, under the Obama Administration and First Lady Michelle Obama’s plight against childhood obesity, MyPlate was born.  It resembles many of the food guide icons already in existence, for example – from the American Diabetes Association, The American Institute for Cancer Research, the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine, even Canada’s food guide (Nestle, 2011).  For more information on historical USDA food guides, click here.

MyPlate is very similar to the plate I preach in my own practice.  One quarter of one’s plate should contain protein, e.g. beans and grains, quinoa, meat, fish, etc.  To borrow from Michael Pollen, meat should be considered a “side dish” on the plate, and should be varied with other sources of protein (Pollan, 2008).  Another 1/4 of the plate should be whole grains.  MyPlate says that the remaining 1/2 of the plate should be vegetables and fruits, though I like to tell my clients that 1/2-3/4 of their plate should be vegetables of all kinds and colors, including cooked and raw.  A small amount of fruit is optional, though consider that eating three servings of fruit per day can inhibit weight loss and contribute to blood sugar imbalance.  Further, not every plate needs to have a specific portion of whole grains, unless you are pairing those grains with beans to make a complete protein, in which case the grains belong in the 1/4 protein section of your plate. Chock full of probiotics which keep the digestive system healthy and happy, a heap of saurkraut is an excellent food to include in every meal.

The MyPlate icon includes a side dish for dairy.  This, I would argue, can also be unnecessary.  We don’t need dairy at every meal.  Rather, what we do need is fat, either from protein (nuts, fish, meat), or as a “side”, e.g. olive or flax oil in our salad dressing.  Again, the fat can be combined with another section of the plate, e.g. greens cooked in coconut oil, or avocado in our fruit section.  After your wholesome meal, sit back, relax, and digest for a few minutes with a warm cup of herbal tea.

References:
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.  (2011).  A Brief History of USDA Food Guides.  Retrieved from:    www.usda.gov
Nestle, M.  (2011, June 2).  Deconstructing the USDA’s New Food Plate. (Web Log Comment).  Retrieved from http://www.foodpolitics.com/
Pollan, Michael.  (2008).  In Defense of Food.  New York: Penguin Books.