The Food Pyramid is dead, but don't mourn it - I certainly don't! Especially the most recent (indecipherable) vertically-striped version...Today, the USDA introduced its new symbol to accompany the 2010 Dietary Guidelines: MyPlate. (wow, that makes so much sense - we eat on plates!)
I like the visual of MyPlate much better than MyPyramid. It's very similar to the visual I draw when teaching the plate method of healthy eating. Overall, MyPlate is definitely an improvement. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the dairy being stuck out there in right field - it seems too much like an afterthought.
Also, Marion Nestle points out in her recent blog post, protein is a nutrient, not a food. Today, my nutrition director, Dr. Wahida Karmally, observed that many people think they are only eating protein when consuming meat; they don't know they are eating fat and cholesterol too. Calling that section of the plate "protein" seems to reinforce this misconception - not to mention there's plenty of protein in dairy (just go for low-fat and non-fat varieties, of course!).
So, what do you think?
