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| From: Todd Moody
| Actually, I have to wonder how typical a food pyramid-based diet
| is.  I tend to think of the Standard American Diet as one that is
| makes a lot of use of fat-impregnated starches, such as French
| fries, "loaded" baked potatoes, chips, pastries and other junk
| foods, along with "meats" such as battered chicken, etc.
| Synthetic "cheese" is liberally used, as well as other trans-fat
| sources.  Even a pyramid-based diet that used more whole foods
| would be a vast improvement on this.
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I agree.  I meant to state that when an obese individual seeks a
nutritional help, usually they are guided to the food pyramid, which is
often is reevaluated by the individual to include favorite foods such as
white flour pastas, etc.  Popular magazines always have articles like "lose
weight on chocolate".   It's all so sad and crazy at the same time.  The
pyramid doesn't even explain WHY Americans should eat that way, other than
a glib statement that it is lower in fat.

Also, my objection to the pyramid regarding quantity...although it does
state "servings" of each category, it still implies by the picture alone
that we should be basing our diet on grains.  That concept is ruining
health of many Americans.  Americans seem to prefer their grains as white
as snow.  Even massed produced bread is colored to look like a whole grain
product!  But that is another story.
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Snowlight
239.5/236.5/140
LC since 9/13/98
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