You may not know about the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid, but in my opinion, it represents the most independent, research-based guide to nutrition available today. Other nutrition guides such as the USDA Food Pyramid are tainted by special interests such as the milk, grain, and beef industries that happen to have representatives on the USDA Advisory Committee.
Diet gurus are usually pushing supplements, the media is constantly discussing the latest fad diet, while the food industry is thinking about its bottom line, not your health (i.e. selling foods with refined carbs, which are cheaper and have a longer shelf life). Being a Yalie, it’s hard for me to promote anything with the word “Harvard” in it, but I guess I’ll make an exception here. The following is an image of the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid, which represents 40 years of solid, independent research:
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You will be amazed at how much healthy food you can eat, and how long your hunger will be satisfied, while still keeping your calories in check. I think the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid is idealized, in that it’s hard to get a perfect balance of the quality of foods as it suggests, but in future posts, I will make eating healthier less daunting for you. It’s really not that bad if you know some tricks to make it easier.
I want to make clear that healthy eating is obviously desirable, but it does not necessarily translate into a leaner body. What I personally strive for is eating in a way that’s healthy while also relatively low calorie. Because this pyramid is focused on general health, protein intake is not emphasized. For active individuals who strength train to maintain, or increase lean muscle mass, a higher protein intake may be necessary.
Harvard is a lot more concerned with disease prevention, not how to get a six pack! In addition, your total calorie intake is an important determinant of whether or not you lose fat (even if you are eating healthy).
I introduced you to this pyramid because I want you to understand what research has proven to be the “ideal” healthy food intake for long term health. What constitutes healthy nutrition is incredibly controversial (for example, there are countless nutrition “experts” who believe any grain intake is a mistake), but I must go with the 40 years of independent research. One more quick thing to mention – you may have noticed that exercise is actually at the base of the pyramid, which serves as the foundation of effective, sustainable weight control.
For much more on the Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid, you can check out the website here: Harvard Healthy Eating Pyramid.
P.S. Does your food intake look anything like this Pyramid? What areas of your nutrition can you improve?
