The USDA has struggled for years to update its outdated Food Guide Pyramid. Thanks to the meddling of every food and beverage industry group that has a stake in the guide, however (the dairy industry, beef industry, wheat growers, etc.), the USDA seems to be paralyzed, unable to make any changes out of fear of retribution from any industry that might perceive itself as being given anything other than a full-fledged recommendation by the USDA. (This true story of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid is discussed in shocking detail in the book Food Politics by Marion Nestle.)
On the heels of political and financial bickering at the doors of the USDA, Atkins Nutritionals has managed to come up with a far superior Food Guide Pyramid that actually makes nutritional sense and isn't held hostage to the financial interests of various industry groups. In this way, the Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid turns out to be the healthiest food guide available, demonstrating yet again that a small group of nutritionists and researchers can out-smart the federal government when it comes to providing sound nutritional advice to the public.
Let's face it: the USDA is currently held hostage by the food and farming industries it is supposed to be regulating. This political climate makes it impossible for the USDA to recommend that people eat less of anything. Years ago, when research showed that red meat (beef) promoted chronic disease, the USDA tried to recommend that people, "reduce their consumption of red meat." The beef industry balked, and after several lengthy rounds of threats and political posturing, the USDA's official recommendation was changed to something almost exactly the opposite of what was original intended: "eat more lean meats." That's just one small example of how the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid is actually little more than a reflection of the financial interests of various food and farming groups. No informed nutritionist would claim the USDA Food Guide Pyramid actually offers sound nutritional advice.
The Atkins Food Guide Pyramid, in contrast, does offer sound nutritional advice. And that's what this analysis report is really about. Here, the Consumer Wellness Research Center takes a closer look at the science and nutrition behind the Atkins Food Guide Pyramid and discusses strategies for applying it in your own life. By following the Atkins Food Guide Pyramid and by applying the supplementary strategies mentioned here, you can vastly improve your health outcome. You will very likely shed excess body fat, experienced heightened levels of energy, have greater clarity of thought, and may very well start to see a reversal of serious diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, depression, arthritis, and many others.
From the point of view of the CWRC, this Atkins Food Guide Pyramid isn't perfect, and there is certainly room for improvement, but it is undoubtedly leaps and bounds ahead of the outdated USDA pyramid. So let's get started and see what's the "magic" found in the Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid.
This article is reprinted from Analysis: The Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid, a public education ebook provided free of charge by the non-profit Consumer Wellness Research Center.
Next: Part 2: Structure of the Food Guide
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also a successful software entrepreneur, having founded a well known email marketing software company whose technology currently powers the NaturalNews email newsletters. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Sunday, July 18, 2004
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