A few weeks ago, my sorority asked the UF Student Health Care Center if they could send a nutritionist to talk to us about how to eat healthier. When the day came, I was so excited to hear what she had to say, but so disappointed by what I finally heard. I realized that the eating advice she gave to all of the women in my chapter, and most likely had been giving to all of her patients, was according to the old food pyramid.

Scientists have discovered that what used to be the standard of healthy eating was flawed, and it has been updated since; therefore, I believe it is important to raise awareness for those who have not yet heard that our old diet habits should not be the same as our present ones 

The old food pyramid I am referring to is the one that was proposed in 1992 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I remember learning about it in school, when it was suggested as a guide for cafeteria lunch. The problem with this is described by Walter Willett, Chair of the Nutrition Department at Harvard School of Public Health, who says, “the food guide pyramid… is based on the idea that all fat is bad. Therefore, if fat is bad, and you have to eat something, carbohydrates must be wonderful. So the base of the pyramid is really emphasizing large amounts of starch in the diet.” Potatoes were also grouped with vegetables, suggesting that you can fulfill your serving of that food group with starch, as well. Another issue is that it does not include the fact that even if you eat exactly the way the pyramid suggests, you will not be healthy without exercise.

In 2005, the USDA updated the food guide and represented each food group as a triangle; a wide base symbolizing food that should be consumed more like foods with little fat or added sugar, and a narrow base symbolizing what to consume less of, or foods containing less solid fat and added sugar. The pyramid also incorporated exercise and shows that the more you exercise, the more you can eat the foods grouped in triangles with larger bases.

While the 2005 food guide included physical activity and a simpler visual representation, it still did not effectively represent portion control, at least in a way that people could easily understand. Thus, in 2011, the USDA came out with “MyPlate,” the most recent and most accurate food guide. It is a picture of a plate sectioned off into categories, almost like a pie chart, displaying the amount of space each type of food should take up on your plate. Most importantly, the grain section description on MyPlate specifies that at least half of your grains should be whole grains -- something the food pyramid ignores. You can visualize much of each food group to put on your plate, and, mentally, map out each meal to make your diet a lot more balanced.

Hopefully, this is a wake up call to anyone stuck in the past and still of the mindset that what they learned in grade school about healthy eating is the norm. Scientific research has taken us a long way, and keeping up with the times is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.