Summary: the foods we eat provide us with energy and nutrition. ALL foods are sources of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and other nutrients.
Rethinking Food Groups
The USDA MyPlate is cute, colorful, and is a joy to look at on the wall. But trying to follow “the Five Food Groups” is more confusing than necessary. The MyPlate format was introduced in 1991 and is only slightly less confusing than the “Food Pyramid” it replaced.
The crux of the problem that I intend to outline here is that the entire system is based on an incorrect foundation: the Five Food Groups are a sham.
The USDA has mucked-up their nutrition and healthy eating guidance. The guidelines they provide were developed with the best intentions but they mis-direct and complicate our eating habits and understanding of nutrition basics.
- What are the proper portion-sizes for each category?
- How many fruits and vegetables should you eat every day?
- How much protein do you need every day?
- How much fat is too much?
- Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…
CONFUSION: Four Food Groups and A Nutrient Group
The foundation of the current USDA guidelines for healthy food choices is misguided reliance on the Five Food Groups:
- Grains
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Dairy
- Protein Foods
Which one of these is not like the others? The first four are food groups: grains, vegetables, fruit, and dairy are all specific “types of food” and therefore obvious choices for Food Groups (we reject dairy but discuss that later).
Protein is a NUTRIENT. Protein is not a Food Group and the attempt to call a group of foods “Protein Foods” causes and exacerbates confusion. Protein is found at various levels in all foods and in all of the other Four Food groups: grains, vegetables, dairy, and even fruit (although not a significant source) all contain protein.
The USDA itself recognizes this inconsistency but thoroughly muddies the waters in only partially addressing it. Here’s how the USDA addresses the fact that basically all foods contain protein:
- Some foods get classified into two groups!
- BEANS and PEAS are special foods that can be counted towards “Protein Foods” OR “Vegetables” and you determine which group based on how much of them you eat!
- So are they protein or vegetables? When you eat a full serving, they are a “Protein Food” but if you eat less than a full serving they are counted as a “Vegetable” for that meal. Crystal clear…
OK. Back to the point-at-hand: EVERY FOOD could be considered a “Protein Food” because the nutrient protein can be found in every type of food. It is misleading AND utterly confusing (even to the USDA themselves) to categorize the nutrient protein as a Food Group all to itself.
Thinking of some foods as “Protein Foods” is so ingrained that it took me some time to wrap my head around it. But it’s not so difficult if you remember that we consume protein from almost everything we eat.
In fact, the easiest way to think of nutrition is to remember that ALL foods are just sources of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and other nutrients.
When I finally “got it” everything came into crystal-clear focus…
Smashing MyPlate: Nutrition Simplified
It’s not easy rejecting MyPlate and the Food Pyramid, but it’s the first step in better eating habits. Stop thinking about Food Groups. And definitely stop thinking that only some foods are Protein Foods. What do we REALLY need to survive and be healthy?
Basically, survival itself and healthy eating boils down to two basic things: we need energy (calories) and we need nutrients (i.e. protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, etc.).
In a bit more detail, here what we need to asking ourselves:
- Am I getting enough calories (but not too many)?
- Am I getting the right proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrates?
- Am I getting all the nutrients that I need?
The next entry will focus on how easy it is to answer these questions, and that they are answered so much more directly and completely as a vegan.
Astute Vegan 