The Old Folks Food Pyramid

The researchers at Tufts University have revised their recommendations for the elderly.

Tufts University researchers have updated their Food Guide Pyramid for Older Adults to correspond with the new USDA food pyramid, now known as MyPyramid.

Uh oh…another diet following the Food Guide Pyramid. Let’s take a look!

Whole, enriched, and fortified grains and cereals such as brown rice and 100% whole wheat bread.

Bright-colored vegetables such as carrots and broccoli.

Deep-colored fruit such as berries and melon.

Low- and non-fat dairy products such as yogurt and low-lactose milk.

Dry beans and nuts, fish, poultry, lean meat and eggs.

Liquid vegetable oils and soft spreads low in saturated and trans fat.

Fluid intake.

Physical activity such as walking, house work and yard work.

Ok, so they lost me right off the bat with the grains. I will say it again: there is nothing in a grain that you can’t get from fruits and vegetables. Grains are absolutely unnecessary and since they are not edible without processing, they do not fit into a diet based on whole foods. (The study was supported by the USDA, so the grain recommendations aren’t unexpected.) Good stuff on the vegetables and fruits, especially pointing out the need for lots of color. More variety in color equals more variety in nutrients. Unfortunately, the Food Pyramid is still weighted towards grains. Just go look at the bars…the left-most bar, the grains, is the widest. Please someone explain to me why a food that has to be processed, a food that you can’t just pick from the ground and start eating, is the base of our dietary recommendations.

And then we get into the good stuff, starting with “Low- and non-fat dairy”. Dairy isn’t a low-fat food. Nature made dairy a high-fat food, on the order of nearly 60% fat in humans for a reason. Fat is nourishing. To make a low-fat or non-fat dairy product requires processing, nevermind that any pasteurized/homogenized dairy product is already processed. Continuing with the fats, they recommend the same ol’ politically-correct garbage, liquid vegetable oils and avoidance of saturated and trans fats. What do we know about vegetable oils, those polyunsaturated bringers of oxidation? Well, they’re highly prone to rancidity and they must be cleaned and deodorized to be shelf-stable. That sounds like processing to me. And what do we know about healthful saturated fats like that from grassfed animals, coconuts, and palm fruits? They are high in vitamins because they require no processing to be shelf-stable. They are good to cook with because their saturation makes them highly resistant to oxidation, a resistance that serves well in the body too. Note that oxidation is known by various names depending on where it’s happening. A few terms you may have heard: ripening, rusting, aging. All are oxidation.

I have no real contention with any of the other suggestions. Protein intake should be high to help maintain muscle mass, though I’m not a big fan of the legumes. Obviously fluids and exercise are good for all ages.

Considering the diet that most people eat and thinking about what most people look like as they age, I have a feeling this isn’t an optimal diet. Looking at guys like Mark Sisson (he’s only 54, not all that old) and Art De Vany, I have a feeling that Mark’s Carb Pyramid and Art’s Evolutionary Fitness will serve people better as they age. Both of these guy’s diets closely follow ancestral patterns of eating whole, high nutrient, completely unprocessed (hence “whole”, just thought I’d reiterate the point) foods: meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, tubers, and high quality oils.

If you enjoyed this post, share it on StumbleUpon or Health Ranker (or both!)