Preview of Denise Minger's Book, Death by Food Pyramid

[RawNut]

Death by Food Pyramid

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg158/MDA2008/PBP/DBFP_Jacket-cover.jpg
Warning: Shock and outrage will grip you as you dive into this one-of-a-kind exposé

Shoddy science, sketchy politics and shady special interests have shaped American dietary recommendations—and destroyed our nation’s health—over recent decades. The phrase Death by Food Pyramid isn’t shock-value sensationalism, but the tragic consequence of simply doing what we have been told to do by our own government—and giant food profiteers—in pursuit of health.

In Death by Food Pyramid, Denise Minger exposes the forces that overrode common sense and solid science to launch a pyramid phenomenon that bled far beyond US borders to taint the eating habits of the entire developed world. Denise explores how generations of flawed pyramids and plates endure as part of the national consciousness, and how the “one-size-fits-all” diet mentality these icons convey pushes us deeper into the throws of obesity and disease.

Regardless of whether you’re an omnivore or vegan, research junkie or science-phobe, health novice or seasoned dieter, Death by Food Pyramid will reframe your understanding of nutrition science, and inspire you to take your health, and future, into your own hands.

Read an excerpt of Death By Food Pyramid:

http://www.primalblueprintpublishing.com/books/death-by-food-pyramid/

[mike_d]

Nice cover!

Pyramids are a symbol of death, not life.

Now we have "My Plate" in many variations:

http://www.healthhabits.ca/2011/06/02/choose-plate-the-paleo-version/?ModPagespeed=noscript

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-617652

http://lowcarbwinnipeg.com/2011/12/its-not-that-hard-what-should-my-plate-look-like/

[RawNut]

Nice cover!

Pyramids are a symbol of death, not life.



True. Instead of having live men climbing the pyramid, there should have been mummies trying to climb out from under it. May have been a bit too much though.

[RobLL]

In defense of the old food pyramids they were assuming that people were reading the portion size advice. The 10 or so starch servings plus fruit would have been 200-300 grams of carbs. More than I need or tolerate, but far less than I was actually eating at the time.

[WereBear]

I'm so thrilled with her book! And it sounds like it's Mark's Daily Apple publishing arm, so that's a great partnership.

[teaser]

RobLL said;

In defense of the old food pyramids they were assuming that people were reading the portion size advice. The 10 or so starch servings plus fruit would have been 200-300 grams of carbs. More than I need or tolerate, but far less than I was actually eating at the time.



I'm not sure that counts as a defense. Using the food pyramid as my guide, I doubt I'd be able to keep my portions within limits and not be ravenously hungry all the time. I could probably eat to food pyramid ratios disregarding portion size advice without being hungry all the time, but then I'd be fat.

But any time I've tried to eat that way, I've ended up melting cheese on ramen noodles, and eating donuts instead. And I think the diet you're trying to follow has a strong influence on desire for off-diet crud.

A criticism Barry Sears has made is that when you tell people to eat Atkins, often the group ends up on average eating the Zone. (This doesn't necessarily stand up, once you look at the behaviour of the people who lost the most weight--they may be the people who actually followed Atkins to the book, the average diet being brought into the Zone by non-compliers). I think Sears was talking the A to Z study there.

2000 calories a day, 160 grams of protein, mostly fat, and I want to binge on peanuts. Even binged flax seed, of all things, for a couple of days. About half as much protein, still about 2000 calories seems to have cut off-program binging off at the knees.

[ojoj]

In defense of the old food pyramids they were assuming that people were reading the portion size advice. The 10 or so starch servings plus fruit would have been 200-300 grams of carbs. More than I need or tolerate, but far less than I was actually eating at the time.

No, its showing that the bulk of our food intake should come from carbohydrates and that meat and fats are to be eaten in small quantities

Jo xxx

[Seejay]

What I think the most important thing the powers really learned was that the government recommendations really do tilt consumption towards what the government advised. Amazing really. And thus it directs the whole food landscape.

Even now in my Oregon food wonderland, you can't get fatty beef-and-pork traditional sausage in the grocery stores now. Because of the meme about fatty meat I imagine. Not in conventional or health food stores. It's all now "lean cuts of meat" or "all beef." And in the meat department too, nothing but lean muscle meat; few oxtails or brisket or heart, liver.

[RobLL]

ojoj - read what I said, the pyramid recommended 200 to 300 grams of carbs a day, that amounts to about half of one's total calorie requirements a day. Many people do well on that sort of diet. I don't.

[JoanD'Arc]

My son sent me this:

http://cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com/11252013172767.jpg

I love the trapezoid!

[rightnow]

I cannot buy greek yogurt that is not non-fat. I think there might be one that is low-fat. That's GREEK yogurt. Which is, by definition, FAT! That's why it was thick.

So I can buy non-fat yogurt, and cream, both with carageenan (which so nicely gives lab animals tumors) to make them thick, because as you know, FAT would be BAD for you. The government says so! Thanks, government.

I don't have a choice. Either I order it online, or Super Wal-Mart dictates my food landscape the way it dictates the retail landscape in my region. I can buy approximately 3000 items of unfood that will kill me there, or a moderate collection of produce-meats-dairy that won't.

Except the dairy with carageenan I suppose. Oh yeah and the dairy made with soy, which you don't know unless you really read the ingredients (who the F-- makes cheese with soy?! About 80-90% of USA/Britain firm cheeses, says wiki). Not counting the meatglue of course. Not counting -- never mind.

It is perfectly acceptable to have 27 different kinds of Oreos, a highly "chemically engineered food-like product," on the cookie shelf. Which mind you is filled with bags of tasty little deathballs that bear labels like "No added sugar!" (massive condensed grape/apple juices), or "Fat-Free!" (those are probably the deadliest), or even "Heart-Healthy Whole Grains!" (because somewhere in that cookie, processed wheat flour had an ancestor who thought he was a grain). The government is who hands over those gold-stars for selling. Because according to the food pyramid the only thing worse than a steak is a candy bar. And primarily, we should be eating bread.

If shelf space is money and power, the Nabisco company owns a good percentage of Wal-Mart, as does Kraft, and so on. Given the staggering volume of these things sold, they're far more commonly sold than say, sausage. But do you hear anybody waxing on about the danger of these hideously unhealthy toxic unfoods? Of course not. You just hear about the arterycloggingsaturatedfat which is the grand and glorious discovery of science: things like, that soybean transfats fed to mice mean that humans shouldn't eat steak.

I can't make any excuse for government on nutrition, except that ignorance combined with commercial greed and institutionalized incompetence make the end-result predictable.

Regarding the food pyramid, please read
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost.php?p=8810966&postcount=2076

PJ

[WereBear]

If shelf space is money and power, the Nabisco company owns a good percentage of Wal-Mart, as does Kraft, and so on.

So true. This is part of the general disordered thinking that "business" in the US has fallen into, thanks to corporations indulging in their most sociopathic tendencies.

Money is supposed to be generated from creating worth; a product or a service people are willing to give money for. Instead, what we have is "money" as an own-goal; no more meaning than the points I rack up playing Tetris.

(Many of us have not yet realized that outsourcing affects us even if we have a job that has not gone overseas. Because businesses have successfully outsourced some of their "work" to their customers! If you've ever sat on hold for 20 minutes... sent them paperwork they should have on file... explained to a new customer service person what the problem is... even driven to the store to get your dairy products instead of having it delivered from a local source... Congratulations! You are now subsidizing the very business you buy from!)

Fortunately, I live in an area with local farming and the farmer's markets that spring from that. Someone in an area like PJ's, where there is no other choice... well, how "free market" is that?

Even with my advantages, I can't afford food that is up to my highest standards more than half the time. And in that, I do feel privileged!

And how messed up is that?

[Verbena]

Because businesses have successfully outsourced some of their "work" to their customers!

So true! Another annoying example: self check out. Because it is faster, you don't have to wait. Yeah, right. I get to do the work that the checker should be doing, but because I don 't do it all day, every day, I am incredibly slow, especially when it comes to un-barmarked produce. And then, all the normal digging in my purse to get card or money, juggling bags, and, for some poor devils, toddlers. And, of course, by using this "quicker" option I allow the store to lay off checkers, as they are no longer needed, and they lose out on their low paying job which was allowing them to put some sort of food on the table. DH doesn't understand why I won't use them. He hates to stand in line, and would rather do anything else, including all the work. And he doesn't even get a percentage off the final total.

[Merpig]

It's all now "lean cuts of meat" or "all beef." And in the meat department too, nothing but lean muscle meat; few oxtails or brisket or heart, liver. Yeah, the pork at my local supermarket is all proudly trumpeted as "extra lean". No wonder it's so tasteless and tough. How I yearn for those lovely fatty porkchops of my childhood - now gone with the wind.

[GlendaRC]

Yeah, the pork at my local supermarket is all proudly trumpeted as "extra lean". No wonder it's so tasteless and tough. How I yearn for those lovely fatty porkchops of my childhood - now gone with the wind.
You know, it took me a long time to realize that the reason I can't cook tender pork chops like I remember, is the lack of fat! Pork chops was one of the first cuts of meat I learned to cook and they used to be succulent and tasty! I still haven't found a way to cook them now so that they're tender. I wonder if marinating them in bacon fat might help? :lol: :help:

[leemack]

Except the dairy with carageenan I suppose. Oh yeah and the dairy made with soy, which you don't know unless you really read the ingredients (who the F-- makes cheese with soy?! About 80-90% of USA/Britain firm cheeses, says wiki).


Dairy made with soy?? After I read this I went and looked at the cheese ingredients in my supermarket and couldn't find one full fat cheese with soy, so was very relieved. But my understanding is that in the USA you have a lot of fake cheese. I guess we're lucky that we have a good selection of 'proper' cheese in the UK.

[Sagehill]

True. Instead of having live men climbing the pyramid, there should have been mummies trying to climb out from under it. May have been a bit too much though.
Where's the "like" button?? lol

[doreen T]

Eat like a pyramid ... Look like a pyramid :exclm:


http://www.realfoodhouston.com/wp-files/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Food-pyramid-cartoon.png


:lol:

[rightnow]

That is freakin hilarious!!!!

PJ

[Merpig]

Dairy made with soy?? After I read this I went and looked at the cheese ingredients in my supermarket and couldn't find one full fat cheese with soy, so was very relieved. But my understanding is that in the USA you have a lot of fake cheese. I guess we're lucky that we have a good selection of 'proper' cheese in the UK. I have to admit I have never seen cheese with soy in it either, other than the so-called "soy cheese" I've seen at my local natural and health foods market! But I only buy proper cheese. My local Publix supermarket has a *fair* selection of cheeses, but for a really good selection I have to drive 25 minutes across the river to Whole Foods.

[Bonnie OFS]

You know, it took me a long time to realize that the reason I can't cook tender pork chops like I remember, is the lack of fat!

I never cared much for pork - other than bacon - until I got some chops from friends who raised pigs. They were so good we bought half a pig! Every part of it was tasty and not at all dry.

[Fransson]

You know, it took me a long time to realize that the reason I can't cook tender pork chops like I remember, is the lack of fat! Pork chops was one of the first cuts of meat I learned to cook and they used to be succulent and tasty!

This is exactly my own experience. But last week I found a locally sourced pork chop that at least had SOME fat on it. Eating that gave me a hint of some of the marvelous flavors of a REAL pork chop.

[JLx]

I cannot buy greek yogurt that is not non-fat. I think there might be one that is low-fat. That's GREEK yogurt. Which is, by definition, FAT! That's why it was thick.

So I can buy non-fat yogurt, and cream, both with carageenan (which so nicely gives lab animals tumors) to make them thick, because as you know, FAT would be BAD for you. The government says so! Thanks, government.

PJ

I recently moved to another part of my state and so far haven't been able to find cream without carageenan. It used to be my store's own brand of cream that was simply "cream". How hard is that? I noticed that it would whip up in a minute and a half versus the additive version which takes me over 5 minutes.

I can find Greek Gods full fat yogurt at Walmart here though. It's only in the big containers.

[girlgerms]

I haven't read this book but I already love it just because of the title.
Also, "eat like a pyramid, look like a pyramid" .. lol !

[Bonnie OFS]

I love the title! I'd never read anything of Denise's before, but did after seeing this thread. Her writing is easy to understand and, being a nerd (her description), you know she has really gone into the available research.

This is another book I'll be asking the library to get. If they don't, I might just buy it myself.

[Squarecube]

You know, it took me a long time to realize that the reason I can't cook tender pork chops like I remember, is the lack of fat! Pork chops was one of the first cuts of meat I learned to cook and they used to be succulent and tasty! I still haven't found a way to cook them now so that they're tender. I wonder if marinating them in bacon fat might help? :lol: :help:

I'm a bit of a bore with this, but when you see pork shoulder with the skin on in the supermarket (or heirloom farm, etc) just buy it. It's cheap, and follow this recipe.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/12/ultra-crispy-slow-roasted-pork-shoulder-recipe.html
Next, maybe you can adapt it to pork chops -- which, I too haven't cooked in a good ten years for the same reason.

[Whofan]

All the pork chops were gone in my local grocery store one day so the butcher said he'd go get me some from the back. As he was walking away, I called after him "please don't trim the fat off!". He turned back and said "DON'T trim the fat?". At this point all the people near us paused in their shopping to listen and take a look at me. I confirmed I wanted fat on my chops and waited patiently for him to return - with a few people still checking me out. It was actually kind of uncomfortable, but I got good chops that day, so worth it.

[deirdra]

Also, "eat like a pyramid, look like a pyramid" .. lol !With the new "my plate" I guess everyone will start looking like spheres.

[WereBear]

I'm a bit of a bore with this, but when you see pork shoulder with the skin on in the supermarket (or heirloom farm, etc) just buy it. It's cheap, and follow this recipe.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/12/ultra-crispy-slow-roasted-pork-shoulder-recipe.html
Next, maybe you can adapt it to pork chops -- which, I too haven't cooked in a good ten years for the same reason.

I sense a holiday treat in the making!

Thanks for this!

[Ilikemice]

At my local farmers' market (Yay - GF beef!) there was a lady who sold rabbit meat and lamb. Now I understand rabbit meat is very lean; the family touted this in their pamphlets (healthy- low fat!). But me, being a lamb lover, asked her what cuts had the most fat. She seemed completely flummoxed; the look on her face you all well know. She must have thought I was deluded :)

[janjfree]

I bought some pork chops from Wellness Meats. Oh my, they taste like the pork chops I remember!

[Bonnie OFS]

At my local farmers' market (Yay - GF beef!) there was a lady who sold rabbit meat and lamb. Now I understand rabbit meat is very lean; the family touted this in their pamphlets (healthy- low fat!). But me, being a lamb lover, asked her what cuts had the most fat. She seemed completely flummoxed; the look on her face you all well know. She must have thought I was deluded :)

There is very little fat in any part of the rabbit flesh. The count I have says just under 5g per 3 oz serving - which is 1g less than skinless chicken thigh. I don't know what skinless chicken breast is, but it may be the same as rabbit.

Rabbit would have a tad more fat if it could be cooked with the skin on. In SA guinea pigs are cooked whole and the fur is singed off. Haven't tried that with rabbit - and probably never will!

Rabbit fat - which is around the kidneys & other random places - is an acquired taste. I haven't acquired it. :)

A lot of people cook rabbit covered with bacon strips to give it more fat. I like to re-heat shredded rabbit by sautéing it in butter. Yummy! I also make rabbit sausage. My recipe calls for half and half and eggs. So that adds a bit of fat. And it's delicious. I also make a nice sandwich spread with minced cooked rabbit, mayo, and other ingredients.

Just had an idea - the other night I made Cream of Salmon Soup. I think Cream of Rabbit Soup would be pretty good!

If I were selling rabbit meat, I'd be advertising it as low fat, too. It's what sells nowadays. The fact that it is versitle is lost on many people. So they eat overcooked, dry rabbit and think that's all there is & it isn't very tasty.

[Dodger]

I eat a lot of pork shoulder. It's nice and fatty and full of flavor. I always slow cook it.

[teaser]

I sort of like lean meat when I'm targeting a particular protein number (whether low or high) because it's a bit easier to be accurate than with fat-streaked meat. If I'm trying to hit about 70 grams of protein a day, fatty meat makes me paranoid and I'm liable to overshoot to avoid going too low.

[jmh]

Dairy made with soy?? After I read this I went and looked at the cheese ingredients in my supermarket and couldn't find one full fat cheese with soy, so was very relieved. But my understanding is that in the USA you have a lot of fake cheese. I guess we're lucky that we have a good selection of 'proper' cheese in the UK.

Yeah I thought the same. I think in the UK we benefit a lot from being close to Europe. Whatever you think of the EU when it comes to food we get great choice in traditional food, especially in cheeses, salami etc. Plus there's our good old fashioned local cheddar. Yum! :lol:

[ParisMama]

Just finished this book and found it very interesting.

It's making me re-think dairy (again... ). I actually have access to dairy of the quality of the Swiss villagers that she mentions from Weston A Price's work - and I won't eat offal, no matter how good it might be for me... So maybe it's worth keeping around, it's a far cry from American supermarket dairy...

[RawNut]

I still haven't come across any real cheese with soy in it. I don't consider processed cheese real cheese.

[JEY100]

Dr Mike Eades' positive review:

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/low-carb-library/death-food-pyramid/

Interesting interview on Fat Burning Man.
http://fatburningman.com/denise-minger-death-by-food-pyramid/

Denise and I tackle the rather touchy subject of why some people, specifically women, actually gain weight on a Paleo diet. Although you don't hear much about it on blogs, books, and podcasts, my coaches and I hear it all the time. It can be especially frustrating for women who have a partner who is losing lots of weight with very little effort. So why do some people gain weight on Paleo? Here is a small peek at what we covered: ** The REAL reason the USDA inverted the “food pyramid” in the 1970‘s ** Why the new "Paleo food industry " is selling out (and what to do about it) ** The “No Dogma” Diet: Why your genes may hold the answer to cutting fat and reaching your ideal body weight for life. ** Could cutting carbs decrease your gut flora and lead to hormone interactions that cause weight gain? This week 's episode may ruffle a few feathers, but you deserve to hear the truth about the role genetics play in fat loss. And Denise never holds any punches!

[RawNut]

Up until midnight tonight, you can get the kindle version for 99¢.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/pufa-rama-the-rise-of-vegetable-oils/#axzz390BIItW7

[LC FP]

Thank you RawNut. Bought Denise, Cholesterol Clarity and Eat the Yolks for < $3.

[aj_cohn]

I read the first 25 pages of each of Jimmy Moore's and Liz Wolfe's books. Jimmy's is just some low-carb celebrity pontifications — nothing new and no real scholarship to back up the interviewees' assertions. Wolfe is more serious in her treatment of her subject, but her citations are websites, blogs, and other non-primary sources.

I love Wolfe and Sanfilippo's Balanced Bites podcasts, but a book's a different animal than an hour-long Q&A session — which is most of the podcasts. With such shoddy scholarship, I just can't take Wolfe's book seriously.

[rightnow]

I still haven't come across any real cheese with soy in it. I don't consider processed cheese real cheese.
After a dream that told me "cheese let the poisons in" which occurred the evening I got a toaster oven and was happily imagining my many cheesy meals, I laid off cheese for awhile.

Then I had a big angry fit about it one night and ranted at myself that this made no sense, it's one of the foods I have no reaction to really and a whole food group for me and I could see nothing in cheese that should do me harm.

That night I had another dream, which had a throat chakra element where I was given a 'sound' that I had to wake up with in my head to realize was actually some kind of word. "Rennet." I was pretty sure that was something in cheese, when I thought about it (of course my subconscious would know).

When I looked into it like via wiki etc. I found that allegedly 80% of the cheese -- just cheese, not just american uncheese -- made in North America allegedly uses soy rennet. That seemed hard to believe.

I wouldn't even think this could possibly matter. I don't even know of any soy sensitivity in me, and how much could the amount of that in cheese matter anyway, sheesh.

But out of curiosity I went to the big block of colby-jack cheese I was buying at walmart, to see if it might actually list something in the ingredients. To my incredible shock, it actually had that specific allergen warning on the back with the ingredients: SOY. I had switched to that block of cheese not long prior to the 'cheese let the poisons in' dream because it was the most affordable 'real' cheese block.

I am still a little nonplussed by all this. However, my subconscious giving me two dreams, with an incredibly specific word, leading me to realize it had that in it, leading me to wiki's opinion on how common this is, was amazing.

I started sending emails to cheese making companies asking them about soy (which would be gmo-soy almost certainly) as rennet. Most of them responded with "it is a plant-sourced rennet." I'd say, "Soy is a plant!" but sometimes they wouldn't be more specific. Which I figured was my answer.

Big cheese companies like Tillamook would give me specific exclusions, like they said their sharp and extra sharp white block cheeses use animal rennet. (Note: I think most foreign cheeses like france/italy use animal rennet, could be wrong.) Look up rennet on wiki.

Anyway, so the packaging was not telling me soy on most of the ones I called that pointedly danced around the topic, making me think that wiki was more right than I had originally believed. It's there it's just not recognized.

PJ

[WereBear]

Big cheese companies like Tillamook would give me specific exclusions, like they said their sharp and extra sharp white block cheeses use animal rennet.

Good to know; I've always preferred the most sharp cheese I can get.

And now, on the Leptin Reset, I'm off cow dairy, because of the A1 casein protein. Fortunately, I have access to local goat cheese, which I find delightful, but I'm not going to have much of that, either.

Going gluten free has taught me that yes, a tiny bit can hurt.

[rightnow]

I read Denise's book thanks to the 99 cent kindle offer.

This is odd, because I utterly adore her, and I think she is a great writer, and I am really into the subject, but I didn't really care for her book that much. I just... I was just bored. I feel like lightning is going to strike me down now. I have loved everything else I have ever seen her write, and I have almost a girl-crush on her and wish her every good thing in the world. I just wasn't really fond of the book.

Bummer.

PJ