In the News

Finally – a more sensible Food Pyramid.

            First comes a symbolic leap – the pyramid is inverted. That’s an attention-getter! But less symbolic and more practical is the array of foods across the top. Broccoli, carrots –not quite everyone’s favorites but carrying important nutrients, including carotene and zeaxanthin for healthy vision. The steak could hardly have been relegated to a position down the pyramid considering Americans’ unquenchable taste for red meat (and the clout of the beef industry). The accompanying saturated fat, once condemned as a major cause of coronary artery disease, has been rehabilitated. In my opinion, its hazards cannot be ignored, but having beef, lamb or pork a couple of times a week is not likely to shorten one’s life. There are many other foods that will.

What’s not there: processed meats, refined flour and all forms of sugar. There is overwhelming evidence that overindulgence in the latter two is mainly responsible for the current epidemics of obesity and type two diabetes and the former is associated with cancer. Food pyramids of the past placed junk foods, sweets and sugary drinks at the top, suggesting that they could be part of a healthy diet. They cannot. It is my fervent hope that as a follow-on to the revision of these dietary guidelines there will soon be legislation that will gradually eliminate them from the food scene.

Almost hidden between a carton of milk and a can of green beans is a flask of oil. Is it olive oil or a cooking oil – presumably an omega-6 variety? Both are healthy but the Standard American Diet (SAD) contains too little of the former and too much of the latter. On the other hand, sources of omega-3 fats are represented by the salmon and shrimp. So is tuna, in that little blue can between the egg – no longer a cause of elevated cholesterol – and the avocado, perhaps the healthiest item in the entire pyramid.

Whole grains are at the bottom. Strictly speaking they are not unhealthy, but we should be aware that humans evolved without them.  The old pyramid displayed not only bread, but a large sack of white flour, white rice and a pretzel. They are gone.

There is much, much more to the guidelines than I have mentioned here. I commend the creators of the new version for their willingness to finally tackle the core problem of the nation’s declining health.

The full report, which is an easy read, can be found on Google: dietary guidelines 2026. Go to the realfood.gov link.

Lifestyle

Stop falling!                                              

            A major cause of falls, even in middle age, is the loss of muscle that is the curse of the affluent, technically advanced lifestyle. Without labor-saving devices and powered vehicles, your grandparents, from childhood through their later years, had no choice but to use muscle power to get anything done. It was a blessing, not a curse. With few exceptions, today’s Medicare recipients began losing muscle mass in their mid-twenties at the rate of nearly one percent per year. If muscles mass diminishes by a third to a half, the body sees no need to maintain as much bone mass to support it, so bones become less dense and more fragile.

            There are other factors that increase the risk of falls. As we get older our alcohol tolerance decreases as our muscle mass diminishes and we are often on the verge of dehydration; there is less body water in which to dilute the alcohol. Most seniors take one or more prescription drugs, some of which lead to drowsiness or dizziness, and some of these medications are potentiated by alcohol.

            As old age creeps up on us slowly we need to make some changes in order to avoid falls. It may be time to get rid of scatter rugs. Have a non-skid mat in the tub or shower. Put night lights in the hallways and bedroom. Wear slippers, not socks, when you take off your shoes.  

            A broken hip might not be life-threatening but a cracked skull certainly is.