What is the "food pyramid"?

What is the "food pyramid"?

Susan Silberstein & Marilyn Joyce (Health and Nutrition Educator & Heath Counselor) gives expert video advice on: How was the food pyramid changed in 2005?; What information can be found on a "food label"? and more...

The food guide pyramid was originally developed by the food industry. It was not developed necessarily with health in mind. The food pyramid was more a vehicle for selling the food items; the dairy products, the meat products, and the canned processed products, because it was really not set up in a way that was conducive to good health. When you look at the very foundation of the food pyramid, the very base of it was carbohydrates. It was carbohydrates in any form that was baked and so it could be simple carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates. There was no differentiation. It was all grouped into the same bundle. As they moved up in the food pyramid, it was focused on dairy and meat instead of really focusing fully on what we know now to be really healthy foods; fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Actually they even basically overlooked things like beans, peas, lentils, split peas, and nuts, all of which healthy cultures in the world eat. So, the food pyramid was not founded on really nutritious foods. The food pyramid was founded on what the industry was really trying to sell. That was the basis of the food pyramid and it moved up from, you know, the carbohydrates at the bottom right up to the top where it was incorporating oils and things like that. However, it didn't differentiate even between which oils were healthy and which ones were not. So, again, there was no differentiation between healthy versus unhealthy in the food pyramid.