The limitations of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid have resulted in serious criticisms about the effectiveness of the Pyramid as a tool and led nutrition experts to question its usefulness in

Outline this passage The limitations of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid have resulted in serious criticisms about the effectiveness of the Pyramid as a tool and led nutrition experts to question its usefulness in designing a healthful diet. One major criticism is that it is overly simple and does not help consumers make appropriate food selections within each food group. For example, all the grains and cereals are grouped into one category with no distinction made between whole and refined grains or carbohydrates. A serving of Fruit Loops “counts” the same as a serving of oatmeal. Yet nutritionists know that whole-grain foods contain important nutrients, such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals-nutrients that are typically lost when grains are refined. To help make up for this loss, some of these nutrients, but not all, are added back through a process called enrichment (or fortification). Whole grains are also high in fiber, increase the feeling of fullness, and are typically digested more slowly than refined grains, gradually releasing glucose into the blood. In contrast, refined-grain foods are low in fiber and typically high in simple sugars, causing a spike in blood qlucose and contributing to increased hunger shortly after their consumption. A second criticism is that the Pyramid makes a poor distinction between healthful and unhealthful fats. All the facts are lumped together at the tip of the pyramid, and consumers are told to use them “sparingly.” Not all fats have the same effect on health so they cannot be easily grouped together. We want to limit our intake of saturated and trans fats, while making sure our diets are adequate in the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are essential for good health and may protect against disease. A third criticism is the serving sizes suggested in the Food Guide Pyramid are unrealistic or do not coincide with typical serving sizes of foods listed on food labels. For instance, one serving of a muffin as defined in the Food Guide Pyramid is 1.5 ounces, but most muffins available to consumers range from 2 ounces to 8 ounces! The way that foods are packaged is also confusing to consumers. Unless people read food labels carefully, it is easy to consume an entire package of a food that contains multiple servings and assume that the entire package is equal to one serving. For example, it is common to find soft drinks sold in 20 fluid ounce bottles. Although the serving size listed on the label is 8 fluid ounces, and total servings per bottle is listed as 2.5, most people just drink the entire bottle in one sitting and assume they had one soft drink.

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