RFK Jr. Is Right About One Thing: The USDA Food Pyramid Is Backwards
By: Dr. J. Renae Norton
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. just came out with a new food pyramid. I have to admit that there are not very many things that I agree with when it comes to RFK Jr. For example, the idea that we shouldn’t vaccinate children is dangerous, and completely irresponsible.
That said, I recently completed my latest book soon to be released, called Below The Radar: What They’re Not Telling You About Your Food and like Mr. Kennedy, I pointed out that the USDA Food Pyramid is upside down with the grains at the bottom and the protein and fat at the top. In other words, according to the current USDA food pyramid, 40% of one’s diet should be made up of bread, pasta, and cereal and only 25% of the diet should be made up of proteins, such as meat, fish, milk, eggs, fats, and healthy oils. This is completely wrong. And it is probably one of the reasons that we are the most obese country in the world and at the bottom of a long list when it comes to wellness. In other words, grains are fattening because they raise blood sugar levels, whereas fat and protein do not and you cant gain weight without raising blood sugar levels.
We also have children who will live shorter lives than their parents, a first in history, because they are starting out with the highest rate of obesity in the history of our nation. A little over one in three children in the USA today begin life obese. My generation, which is more than 40% obese today, started out with only 1 in 10 of us being obese as children.
Nonetheless, many people follow the logic of the USDA Food Pyramid and by that I mean they over eat bread, pasta, and foods with sugar and under eat the very healthy foods that are mostly protein and good fat. In that sense I agree with Mr. Kennedy… Something I never thought I would say.
So let’s take a look at this USDA food pyramid. One might assume that it was based on scientific studies, or research. Nope. For example, according to many researchers on this topic, the reason the base of the pyramid was “grain“ was that the pyramid designers were heavily influenced by lobbying efforts from the grain industry. What a surprise! A special interest group in the US adversely affecting consumers! Again, grains raise blood sugar levels and cause weight gain.
The type of grains suggested by the pyramid are also a problem. The pyramid doesn’t emphasize whole grains, but instead encourages the intake of refined grains, like bread and cereal. Anything refined is going to be more fattening than the same thing unrefined and don’t get me started on how much sugar is in your cereal box! We get bad advice from our doctors on this issue too, who also tell us to eat more grains.
Generally speaking, the USDA food pyramid makes no sense. It starts with the assumption that we should eat far more of one food group than any other food group. But there is no scientific data to back that up. Based on my research, it appears that we should eat close to equal amounts of the various food groups, but with a few other modifications. I’ll get to those in just a moment.
Meanwhile, let’s compare RFK’s food pyramid and the USDA food pyramid. I have already explained the problems with the USDA food, pyramid, but let’s look more closely at RFK‘s Food Pyramid. I understand what he is saying in principal, but if you examine his pyramid, it isn’t a pyramid. He’s got fruits and vegetables and protein at the top and he’s got grains at the very bottom, but the rest of it is a mishmash of everything in between. So that’s one problem.
The other problem isn’t so much whether or not you are eating a grain versus a vegetable as it is whether or not you are eating organic or not. Because if you are not eating organic, then you are eating foods sprayed with glyphosate. As soon as you spray that vegetable with glyphosate, you just turned it into an obesogen, or something that causes obesity. In addition to causing obesity, glyphosate is also an allergen, carcinogen and autogen (which means it causes autoimmune disease).
So it is an oversimplification for Mr. Kennedy to say that you will be healthy if you eat fruits and vegetables unless you understand that the fruits and vegetables must be organic. I know, I know no one wants to hear that… But do your own research if you don’t believe me. Or wait for my book to come out and I promise you will understand why eating organic is so important based on the facts and the most up-to-date research.
I will keep you posted on the release date of the book. In the meantime get plenty of rest, walk whenever you can and go organic all the way and every day!
Need help? Please call me 513-205-6543, I’m Dr. Renae Norton, I’m a Wellness researcher, writer and coach and I can help.
Email: Office@mindweightwellnesspro.com
Phone number : 513-205-6543
