(Photo Credit: Lenin Nolly for AP)
President Donald Trump’s White House rolled out a revamped food pyramid on Wednesday to coincide with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s call for Americans to “eat real food.”
The revamped pyramid flips the old version on its head, starting with “Protein, Dairy and Healthy Fats” at the top alongside vegetables and fruits. At the bottom of the new pyramid is a “Whole Grains” section. The protein section shows off a big steak, a cut of salmon, a Thanksgiving-style turkey, alongside other foods like eggs and whole milk.
Kennedy told reporters at a White House press briefing earlier on Wednesday that the old pyramid — which was introduced in 1992 – was scientifically bogus. It “discouraged” protein and healthy fats, he said, by advocating Americans eat about twice as many servings of bread as it did meat and dairy products.
He said the old pyramid was a byproduct of corporate influence on government guidelines.
“These guidelines replace corporate-driven assumptions with common sense goals and gold standard scientific integrity,” Kennedy said. “These new guidelines will revolutionize our nation’s food culture and make America healthy again. For decades Americans have grown sicker and healthcare costs have soared.”
(Photo Credit: Realfood.gov)
Kennedy continued, “The reason is clear: the hard truth is that our government has been lying to us to protect corporate profits telling us that these food-like substances were beneficial to public health.”
The White House’s website dedicated to the new pyramid said the Trump administration was “ending the war on protein.”
Americans “must prioritize high-quality, nutrient-dense protein” in every meal, the website said. It offered a target of 1.2-1.6 grams of protein per kilogram — or roughly 2.2 pounds — of body weight per day.
The site said 90% of U.S. healthcare spending goes towards treating chronic disease and that much of that is tied to poor diet.
You can check out the site yourself by clicking here.
