BOSTON UNIVERSITY NUTRITION EXPERT GIVES THE FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID A MAKEOVER WITH THE RIGHT CARBS!

Thursday, February 26, 2004

(Boston, MA) — Boston University (BU) nutrition expert, Joan Salge Blake, suggests that the Food Guide Pyramid is in need of a “makeover” in order to be in sync with the current diet trends and health needs of the public.

"The Food Guide Pyramid was designed over 10 years ago. It is antiquated,” said Salge Blake, MS, RD, LDN, clinical assistant professor of Nutrition and director of the Dietetic Internship Program at BU’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

She explains that the pyramid needs to be refreshed to reflect current nutritional science, but not discarded since it is a practical visual design.

“Carbohydrates should still be the basis of our diet, but the type of carbohydrates illustrated in the pyramid needs to be changed to show whole grain choices of cereals, breads, rice, and pasta,” said Salge Blake.

It is currently recommended that at least half of our daily servings of carbohydrates should come from whole grains that are rich in fiber, but 80 percent of Americans are choosing the wrong carbohydrates.

Whole fruits and vegetables should remain prominent as these foods tend to “fill you up before they fill you out” and are chockfull of nutrition, states Salge Blake. “We need to eat at least three servings of low calorie, high fiber vegetables as well of two servings of fruit daily.”

As for the rest of the pyramid, Salge Blake recommends that lean protein, low-fat dairy and heart healthy vegetable oils be emphasized. And, since Americans’ sweet tooth has them consuming an average of more than 30 teaspoons of added sugar daily, sweets and treats need to be relegated to the top of the pyramid.

“We don’t necessarily need to toss the Food Guide Pyramid out, rather, let’s refresh it with the enormous amount of nutritional science that we have collected since it’s conception,” said Salge Blake.

You can view Joan’s recipe collection, nutrition tips and additional interactive nutrition programs at: http://people.bu.edu/salge.

Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences is an institution of higher education and research whose premier academic programs prepare dynamic health professionals and whose research and leadership in the health and rehabilitation sciences is actively shaping health care. For more information about Sargent College and to learn about their degree programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, communication disorders, health sciences, athletic training, nutrition, and rehabilitation counseling, visit http://www.bu.edu/sargent.