Nutrition
The nutritional pyramid: history of a lie
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MPH, MSc
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In the late 1970s, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) commissioned a scientific committee to develop a food pyramid that would serve as a dietary guide for the population. Dr. Luise Light, from New York University, was chosen to develop it. The pyramid became the benchmark for university education for doctors and nutritionists. The author herself gave a first-hand account of how events unfolded, which the most prestigious university and scientific institutions have never wanted to reveal.
After reviewing all the available epidemiological data, Dr. Luise Light submitted her proposal to the USDA. It was a reasonable and healthy food pyramid, with vegetables at the base (5-9 servings). It also included nuts, eggs, fish, legumes, and meat. Cereals were far from the base, with a moderate serving of 2 or 3 servings, and an explicit warning was made that cereals should not be refined, but should always be whole grain, and sugars should be limited to less than 10% of the total. Dairy products were also recommended in moderation (2 or 3 servings). Fat, on the other hand, made up 30% of the total calories, with olive oil being recommended, although other vegetable oils could be used as long as they were cold-pressed and unrefined. The food pyramid proposed by Light was based on studies showing a reduction in cardiovascular risk, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other high-prevalence diseases, containing mostly fresh and nutritious foods. But it turns out that neither the government subsidized the cultivation of fresh, nutritious foods, nor did the food industry sell precisely those types of foods...
The proposed pyramid was submitted to the USDA, along with an economic analysis of the price of the shopping basket and the impact on citizens' pockets, calculated to be affordable. But there were other interests above the health of the population. The government itself was spending billions subsidizing the same agricultural products that ended up as refined flour and oil, the basic raw materials with which the American food industry flooded supermarket shelves around the world. In other words, the government itself had an interest in the mass production of grain for export, which allowed it to control the global market, and in protecting the expansion of its food corporations around the world. In addition, it wanted to conceal the sharp rise in food prices by encouraging the consumption of cheap flour-based foods to lower the price of the shopping basket.
The result was that the USDA redrew the pyramid that Light had sent. The 2 or 3 servings of whole grains were increased to a recommendation of 6-11, and the mention that they should be whole grains was removed. Fats became something to avoid, residual in energy intake, with the warning "use sparingly." With the new pyramid, refined flour became the basis of all healthy eating. On the other hand, care had to be taken to "use olive oil in moderation." All with the endorsement of "science." Protein foods were reduced to 2-3 servings, while dairy products were increased to 3-4. Light warned that these changes would lead to an increase in serious diseases in the population. In its own words, no one needed to eat so much white bread, breakfast cereals, or pasta, and these empty foods would displace other more nutritious foods from the diet.
The government tried to justify itself by claiming that fruits and vegetables were more expensive than foods based on refined flours. This argument was particularly specious, since prices are controlled by the government itself through subsidies for agricultural products it wants to produce. But it is even more dishonest and malicious in that it does not take into account the health costs of the diseases caused. The decades of the food pyramid coincided with exponential increases in diabetes and obesity, which doubled and tripled worldwide, in parallel with sales of insulin and cholesterol drugs. Supermarkets were filled with cheaper junk food, while there was talk of "free consumer choice."
The food industry stamped a picture of the pyramid on every pastry product and every bag of potato chips. Pediatricians' associations stamped seals and endorsements on processed children's products in exchange for money from the industry. Universities taught the pyramid in medical and nutrition schools, hiding its origin from students. Doctors and nutritionists asked no questions. Medicine witnessed an exponential increase in prescriptions for new pharmaceutical products intended for "glycemic control," which were intended for lifelong use, were expensive, had poor evidence, and were prescribed under fallacious reasoning based on variations in surrogate markers, rather than reductions in complications and all-cause mortality. The health of millions of people was deliberately damaged, once again coinciding with the economic benefit of the "experts" who established the recommendations. I would like to talk about the serious problem of the legal impunity of "scientific authorities."
"Dietary guidelines have been blatantly manipulated to benefit the sales of agricultural products." Luise Light.
Cite as: Bordallo. A. The nutritional pyramid: history of a lie. ICNS. Available at https://www.icns.es/en/news/the-nutritional-pyramid-history-of-a-lie
Copyright© ICNS Institute
After reviewing all the available epidemiological data, Dr. Luise Light submitted her proposal to the USDA. It was a reasonable and healthy food pyramid, with vegetables at the base (5-9 servings). It also included nuts, eggs, fish, legumes, and meat. Cereals were far from the base, with a moderate serving of 2 or 3 servings, and an explicit warning was made that cereals should not be refined, but should always be whole grain, and sugars should be limited to less than 10% of the total. Dairy products were also recommended in moderation (2 or 3 servings). Fat, on the other hand, made up 30% of the total calories, with olive oil being recommended, although other vegetable oils could be used as long as they were cold-pressed and unrefined. The food pyramid proposed by Light was based on studies showing a reduction in cardiovascular risk, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and other high-prevalence diseases, containing mostly fresh and nutritious foods. But it turns out that neither the government subsidized the cultivation of fresh, nutritious foods, nor did the food industry sell precisely those types of foods...
The proposed pyramid was submitted to the USDA, along with an economic analysis of the price of the shopping basket and the impact on citizens' pockets, calculated to be affordable. But there were other interests above the health of the population. The government itself was spending billions subsidizing the same agricultural products that ended up as refined flour and oil, the basic raw materials with which the American food industry flooded supermarket shelves around the world. In other words, the government itself had an interest in the mass production of grain for export, which allowed it to control the global market, and in protecting the expansion of its food corporations around the world. In addition, it wanted to conceal the sharp rise in food prices by encouraging the consumption of cheap flour-based foods to lower the price of the shopping basket.
The result was that the USDA redrew the pyramid that Light had sent. The 2 or 3 servings of whole grains were increased to a recommendation of 6-11, and the mention that they should be whole grains was removed. Fats became something to avoid, residual in energy intake, with the warning "use sparingly." With the new pyramid, refined flour became the basis of all healthy eating. On the other hand, care had to be taken to "use olive oil in moderation." All with the endorsement of "science." Protein foods were reduced to 2-3 servings, while dairy products were increased to 3-4. Light warned that these changes would lead to an increase in serious diseases in the population. In its own words, no one needed to eat so much white bread, breakfast cereals, or pasta, and these empty foods would displace other more nutritious foods from the diet.
The government tried to justify itself by claiming that fruits and vegetables were more expensive than foods based on refined flours. This argument was particularly specious, since prices are controlled by the government itself through subsidies for agricultural products it wants to produce. But it is even more dishonest and malicious in that it does not take into account the health costs of the diseases caused. The decades of the food pyramid coincided with exponential increases in diabetes and obesity, which doubled and tripled worldwide, in parallel with sales of insulin and cholesterol drugs. Supermarkets were filled with cheaper junk food, while there was talk of "free consumer choice."
The food industry stamped a picture of the pyramid on every pastry product and every bag of potato chips. Pediatricians' associations stamped seals and endorsements on processed children's products in exchange for money from the industry. Universities taught the pyramid in medical and nutrition schools, hiding its origin from students. Doctors and nutritionists asked no questions. Medicine witnessed an exponential increase in prescriptions for new pharmaceutical products intended for "glycemic control," which were intended for lifelong use, were expensive, had poor evidence, and were prescribed under fallacious reasoning based on variations in surrogate markers, rather than reductions in complications and all-cause mortality. The health of millions of people was deliberately damaged, once again coinciding with the economic benefit of the "experts" who established the recommendations. I would like to talk about the serious problem of the legal impunity of "scientific authorities."
"Dietary guidelines have been blatantly manipulated to benefit the sales of agricultural products." Luise Light.
Cite as: Bordallo. A. The nutritional pyramid: history of a lie. ICNS. Available at https://www.icns.es/en/news/the-nutritional-pyramid-history-of-a-lie
Copyright© ICNS Institute
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