The NEW food pyramid

Weighing in on the New Food Pyramid

I wasn't going to talk about it until I saw all the articles coming out today with opinions about what's good and what's bad about it. The thing I noticed about the opinions I read was that none of them talked about whether or not the food met the requirements for the actual needs of the human body. Definitely none of the opinions I read talked about God's design of the body. So, here we go!

How an Engineer Sees This

When I see something like this, I see it as an engineer. Food is fuel for the body, which was designed by someone. (Yes, I know it's God. I'm just following the engineering logic.) The designer of something that needs fuel is also the one who specifies what the fuel needs to be. They design the ________ around the available fuel. The fuel designers design fuel for the ________. In this case, the same designer designed both.

It's no different than the designer of a vehicle specifying the type of fuel needed. I don't know anyone who would put diesel in a gas-powered vehicle or gas in a vehicle with a diesel engine, though I know it happens. Even most people who barely know how to drive their own vehicle know better. In addition, no one questions whether or not the designers of the vehicle got it right. The designers designed it! (Another "DUH!" moment, eh?") And unless vehicle designs change, the fuel designers aren't going to just up and change the fuel if they expect to sell it to anyone.

As an engineer, when I look at this new food pyramid, and the old food pyramids for that matter, I ask the question "Does the food in the food pyramid meet the specifications for the fuel that God intended for the human body? And, since they are specifying quantities, do the specified quantities in the food pyramid match the quantities needed for proper operation and maintenance of the human body?

God's Design

God designed our bodies to run on very specific fuel: macronutrients, micronutrients, and water. The macronutrients are protein, fat, and carbohydrates. The micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. The best way to get nutrients is by eating and drinking foods that contain them. (Boy, these duh! moments are getting kind of frequent.)

Sidenote: We also need phytonutrients, but they're not the fuel that runs the body; they are more like supporting characters. Very important supporting characters! Phytonutrients are a fancy way of saying the things in plants that make the colors. They are the defense system of plants and us for fighting diseases and other nasty stuff.

For most of history, though, no one knew about macro or micronutrients or how they work in the body or all the scientific details that are known now. They just ate the food that was available. We have a pretty good idea that even without all the knowledge and technology we have now, the human race still existed and even grew just eating the food that God put on the earth. The thing is...we also know that the food everywhere on the earth wasn't the same, so people's diets were different. It's fun to think about what can that tell us about God's design and food pyramids?

The Food Pyramid

When I look at this food pyramid, I see that it is essentially addressing macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) and that we should be eating whole, unprocessed foods. AMEN! However, my understanding of three things makes me put this food pyramid tool, along with any other guidance from a government, in my toolbox as a very general tool that may also have some very specific purposes, but it definitely wouldn't be the only tool in my toolbox for determining the specific fuel needs and fuel sources for everyone. (Disclaimer: I don't determine that for individuals. That's what dieticians and nutritionists do! I'm just saying that as a general comment.)

Source

First, I love that our country has a government that cares about the quality of our food. The FDA and USDA are not perfect and, yes, things change depending on who is in control and the whole system gets often abused, but in general, people are trying to help and that's good. That said, as an engineer, researcher, and engineering ethics investigator, the speed at which this guidance came out gives me pause. In the engineering world, guidance and policies go through (or at least are supposed to go through) rigorous review and drafts that includes looking at things from all viewpoints, because the safety, health, and welfare of the public are on the line. As engineers, we are responsible for those things, and our personal lives, not just our careers, are on the line if we don't go through that kind of rigor. We can go lose our license, our career, some money, and even, in extreme cases, go to jail. Not that I expect people to lose their careers or go to jail over guidance about food though it does affect many people, but I do wish that it had gone through more rigor and research with more input and collaboration from a wide variety of people. As I continue to read opinions, I can see a bit of wisdom in every person's viewpoint, as well as a little stubbornness sometimes, no matter their expertise, experience, or political position. I wish this food pyramid, and any guidance, incorporated more viewpoints as well. That said, I still take it as it is....someone trying, and work with it from there. People will always abuse things like this, but I feel we shouldn't let that stop us from doing our jobs well, and it definitely shouldn't stop us from making sure we are living in accord with God's design! He is our source of knowledge, not the FDA, USDA, or any other group of acronyms.

Fuel/Nutrient Needs

First, my understanding of the needs of the human body are that, in general, our macronutrient intake ought to be 45-65% carbohydrates (our primary fuel), 10-35% protein (for tissue building and repair and hormones), and 20-35% fats (for energy, vitamin absorption, and organ protection)*. Those are some pretty wide ranges. It's because there are a lot of individual factors for determining what is best for any individual like age, activity level, size, weight, stress levels, health history, goals, lifestyle, and body constitution/metabolism. So I guess I'd say the food pyramid would be more like saying cars need gas (or diesel), oil, coolant, brake fluid, and transmission fluid. A pretty high-level view of the basics of what our bodies need, but, again, not so sure about their quantities and details for every individual. *https://advancedfunctionalmedicine.com.au/calculating-your-macros/.

The factors for determining what is right for different people is, to me, kind of like the different specifications for every make and model of car, then every year gets even more specific. For example, the AI overview on my computer says that "Ford Focus fuel and fluid specs vary by year and engine, but generally require regular unleaded gasoline (87 octane), Full Synthetic 5W-20 engine oil (WSS-M2C945-A spec), Motorcraft Orange (Orange Organic Acid Technology - OAT) coolant, and DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid (WSS-M6C65-A2 spec), with specific capacities for oil, coolant, and fuel depending on your exact model's engine size. Always check your owner's manual for precise details." Hmmm...that sounds a little like age, activity level, size, constitution, etc. I'd add another one for a really expensive car, but I'm gonna trust that y'all get the picture.

Fuel/Nutrient Sources

Second, there are a variety of foods that contain many different macro and micronutrients and all whole foods contain a variety of nutrients, macro and micro. So, to me, saying that we can only get certain things from certain foods in certain quantities might not tell the whole story.

For example:

• We can get protein from dairy, meat, vegetables, and whole grains.

• We can get vitamin b6 from salmon, turkey, beef, bananas, potatoes, spinach, oranges, eggs, lentils, peanuts, oats, brown rice, and other foods.

• We can get magnesium from avocados, dark-green leafy vegetables, almonds, legumes, seeds, salmon, tuna, turkey, beef, blackberries, papaya, figs, bananas, and other foods.

• Almonds* contain all three macronutrients and a good number of minerals and vitamins, especially B vitamins.

• Blackberries* contain all three macronutrients and a good number of minerals and vitamins.

Point: there are a variety of food sources from which we can get the nutrients we need.

Conclusion

My opinion about anything like this - a food pyramid, a famous doctor's eating plan, or any other general guidance - is that we should compare it to God's design of our bodies and of what they need as well as our individual needs in our prayer and discernment process before deciding how to use it for our health.

The End

One of the purposes of Kingdom Health is to give you tools that will help you in your own discernment process and your health journey. I hope this blog helps. I just want to encourage every child of God to seek God's way and wisdom for good health, to educate Christians about the basics of what God's Word and God's design say about our health as citizens of His Kingdom, and to equip you on your health journey in any way I can.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.

Here's to winning the battle for health in the war for souls!

*One of my favorite sources for learning about the nutrients in individual foods and about the foods that are the best sources of individual nutrients is www.nutrivore.com. While I don't agree with everything she teaches, I absolutely love the detail and depth of the nutrient and food information she provides, the way she provides information, the research team she has put together (last I checked there was an engineer on board : ), and the way she researches the information about every topic she or her team presents.