In 2011, the USDA published its latest nutrition
recommendations with My Plate. My Plate consists of a simple picture of a plate
that visually illustrates what we should be eating at each meal.
The plate has 4 segments, one for fruits, vegetables, protein
and whole grains and a glass of milk on the side. While this was definitely a
step forward from the Food Guide Pyramids that preceded My Plate, the
recommendations were not based entirely on the latest nutrition research.
In response, Harvard University’s Department of Nutrition
published their own healthy eating plate that does a much better job of
providing nutrition recommendations. The Harvard version is based on the
current research in the field of nutrition and is not subjects to lobbying or
political pressures of any kind.
As you can see, the Harvard plate has more detailed
recommendations. Let’s take a look at how the two compare:
-Fruits and Vegetables: The MyPlate graphic simply
shows that half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables. While this is a
great start, the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate goes a step further to mention
that variety is important and that potatoes and French fries don’t count as
vegetables. These are 2 important distinctions.
-Grains: The MyPlate graphic simply shows that ¼ of
your plate should include grains. The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate gives a lot
more information here. It recommends to focus on whole grains such as brown
rice and to limit refined grains, such as white bread. This is a much better
recommendation since distinct types of grains can have very different impacts
on health.
-Proteins: The MyPlate graphic simply shows that ¼ of your
plate should be filled with protein. The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate provides
more detailed instructions to choose fish, poultry, beans and nuts and to limit
red meat and cheese and to avoid bacon, cold cuts and other processed meats.
These recommendations much better reflect current research evidence on the
health effects of protein.
-Milk: The MyPlate graphic shows a glass of milk off to
one side of the plate. It recommends dairy at every meal. The Harvard Healthy
Eating Plate has a glass of water with the recommendation to drink water, tea
or coffee, limit dairy to 1-2 servings per day and to avoid juice and sugary
drinks. We don’t need large amounts of dairy in our diet. There is little
evidence that a high dairy consumption decreases risk of osteoporosis and very
high intakes of dairy can actually be harmful, raising the risk of prostate and
ovarian cancer.
Dietary Fat: MyPlate offers no guidance on
the consumption of dietary fats. Harvard’s Healthy Eating Plate recommends
consuming healthy vegetable oils such as olive oil and canola oil and to limit
butter and trans fat. These are important recommendations to include.
Physical Activity: MyPlate
offers no message about physical activity. The Harvard Healthy Eating Plate has
a little stick figure running in the bottom left with the reminder to stay
active. This is a simple yet relevant message about the importance of physical
activity in weight maintenance as well as general good health.
Conclusions And Recommendations
Although USDA’s MyPlate is a step forward, the recommendations
do not reflect the latest research evidence in the field of nutrition. The
Harvard Healthy Eating Plate is a much better guide and should be the reference
for those looking to improve their diet and reduce their risk of chronic
disease.
