“I’m having my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. What should I get?” My friend Janie was not asking a pharmacist, physician or even a local drug dealer, but a waitress. We were in college, eating lunch at a macrobiotic restaurant in Soho (my suggestion) and my friend looked expectantly at the waitress as if she were the sibyl at the Oracle of Delphi. After some deliberation, minus sheep entrails, and failing to speak in hexameter, the waitress answered. “Burdock root. It purifies the blood.” Janie seemed pleased with the answer and dutifully ordered the gummy root. I know now what I knew then: Janie’s teeth would have come out uneventfully regardless of what she had for lunch, and she would have lived to tell about it even if she’d had a cheeseburger.
Having dental surgery? Depressed? Need energy or a memory boost? There’s a food for that. I have no idea if burdock root really is good for the blood, stimulates digestion, promotes optimal kidney function or makes hair grow on your chest. Eating medicinally is, I think, anything from unwise to ineffective, although I would never deny the benefits of certain foods. If you happen to be stuck on a sailing vessel for months at a time, limes, which will keep well without refrigeration, really will prevent scurvy. If you’re stationed in the tropics without access to modern medicine, quinine will help prevent malaria, and the caffeine I’m drinking now is making me more awake, or at least less likely to nap immediately. Food is not meant to be prescriptive, but fuel for the body, although there can be no doubt in the relationship between health and what we eat. Significant excess weight around the mid-section is statistically linked to increased rates of type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, and more people will enjoy better health if they carry less excess weight and eat more vegetables. Mrs. Obama and I agree on that much. Actually, as a lifelong Democrat and an Obama supporter, we agree on much more, but I do not like her food plate.
As a simple reminder to eat more fruits and vegetables, it’s great. As an advisory of what to eat, it’s confusing. This is what it looks like:
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| The old pyramid |
Dr. Walter C. Willet of the Harvard School of Public Health pointed out that it would be hard not to improve on the most recently used food pyramid, and he’s right. It gave almost no indication that it had anything to do with nutrition and looked like a gay pride icon for overcoming obstacles. It’s an improvement that the new plate actually lists food groups, but I’m not sure what it’s telling me to do and I’m a slender and informed whole foods enthusiast. Someone with less interest or knowledge would be lost. The Web site, www.myplate.gov, has some good explanations and additional guidelines, but it’s preaching to the choir; people who aren’t already interested are unlikely look at it. Still, there doesn’t seem to be anything controversial or debatable on the plate, unless you consider all those fruits and vegetables.
A moderately active grown man might consume 2,000 calories a day, and the drawing of the food plate doesn’t indicate if proportions are intended to be volume or calories; we can only hope for the former. It would be difficult for even the most enthusiastic salad lover to eat 1000 calories of vegetables and fruits daily; a person would need to eat nearly constantly. Even 50% in volume could be unattainable. Fresh food is expensive, and while it costs more money to raise, feed, and slaughter and process cattle than to grow plants, it’s cheaper to feed a family from the McDonald’s dollar menu. That’s not even considering the realities of many urban neighborhoods, were the only local store might be a bodega with a few anemic-looking limes and onions, and some bunches of plantains. The new food plate would have been far more newsworthy if it was unveiled with an accompanying new food policy.
Food should not be difficult to understand. We have this chart on our refrigerator:
Whether you agree with it or not, it’s broken down into proportions you can visualize, and even has pictures, in case you’re not sure what constitutes a grain or what a legume might be. I like this one even better because it shows people engaged in daily physical exercise:
They’re not at a gym, but look like they’re having fun, doing things like walking and dancing. It also shows red wine, considered a key component in both the misnamed Mediterranean diet, and in the French Paradox.
Until recently, when fast food started to make serious inroads, the French had the second lowest rate of heart disease in the world, but consumed more saturated fat than any other nation. Country pates, cheese, lots of meat, amazingly rich desserts, it seemed like the French ate whatever they wanted. In truth, on a daily basis, they ate smaller portions than we’re accustomed to, walked more, used tons of garlic in their cooking and drank wine with meals, which metabolizes differently than a drink without food. Incidentally, the nation with the lowest rate of heart disease was Japan, with a diet rich in fish and vegetables.
On average, Americans eat half a pound of beef a day and over 3 cups of sugar a week. Eating smaller portions, less fatty meat and less sugar can’t be anything but good, but that doesn’t mean we have to banish old favorites forever. Eating is both pleasurable and emotional for most people, and it should be. It should taste good. If anyone had consulted with me when new guidelines were being drawn up, this is what I would have said.
- Walk a little each day.
- Choose fresh food over processed when you can.
- Have a cheeseburger if you like, but maybe weekly rather than daily.
- Cut down on sugar; you don’t have to cut it out.
- Seriously, eat your vegetables, the way your mother told you do to.
- Enjoy what you eat.
Good and clear food charts are available, and I’m not sure why they couldn’t be modified for our plate shape. Presumably the best and the brightest minds in Washington worked on the problem and it’s hard to believe that this is the best they could do. I’m a big fan of Michael Pollan and can’t top his seven-word advice. Neither could Mrs. Obama or her advisors:
Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.
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