An Apple a Day: new healthy eating guidelines from the USDA…and Harvard’s response"

By: Allie Gallant, New Media Editor

The idea behind the food guide is simple; to provide a guideline to inform national policy and budgetary considerations related to nutrition, and help consumers make healthy choices.

It is not simple, however, to boil complex science down to a simple graphical representation, one that will be widely understood and easy to apply in the marketplace. The original USDA food pyramid had its share of controversies, and with the release of the newly re-vamped USDA MyPlate, a response from Harvard Medical School in the form of their own ‘Healthy Eating Plate’ proves that differences of opinion still exist.

The original USDA food pyramid was developed in the early 1990s, when predominant opinion held that low-fat diets were the way to go. The work of Ancel Keys and others implied a link between heart disease and high saturated fat intake, and this discovery was largely extended to include all types of fat, and reflected in the pyramid with fats at the top and instructions to “use sparingly”.

Industry adapted rapidly, providing consumers with a plethora of low-fat products that were in-line with nutrition policy at the time. As saturated fat was public enemy number one, processors began using partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil as a substitute for animal fat (unfortunately trans fat – which has a big impact on blood cholesterol levels – was a dangerous side effect of this change).

While low-fat is still a mainstay of grocery store shelves, awareness of healthy fats and problems related to high sodium intake and preservatives are leading to the development and marketing of ‘real’ products. Often this translates to minimally-processed, low-sodium products and increased fat content coming from healthy sources like fish and nuts. The new USDA My Plate graphic no longer targets fat as a key nutrient to avoid, but Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate goes even further to include fat as its own group and specify the difference between healthy and unhealthy fats.

Predominant vegetable portions and less carbohydrates are a feature of both the MyPlate and Healthy Eating Plate graphics, however the latter highlights the fact that not all types of protein are created equal (e.g. limiting red meat) and dairy products should be limited to 1-2 servings a day (as opposed to the MyPlate graphic which marks dairy as its own group).

The MyPlate and Healthy Eating Plate are aligned in many regards, the main difference being the level of detail. Harvard Health Publications states that, “a hamburger or hot dog on a white bread bun with French fries and a milk shake could be part of a MyPlate meal – even though high red and processed meat intakes increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer, and high intakes of refined grains and potatoes make it hard to control weight.” While the new USDA MyPlate is a big improvement, designating high- and low- quality sources of nutrients on Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate provides consumers with further detail to help guide their food choices.