Goodbye Pyramid, Hello Plate

June 2, 2011

USDA's new food icon emphasizes fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy groups. Today, in an effort to help consumers make healthier food choices, the United States Department of Agriculture unveiled its new, non-pyramid food icon, MyPlate. The plate icon emphasizes the key messages from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, launched earlier this year.
The new icon will replace the MyPyramid icon, a move that is sure to be welcome news for nutritionists across the country. The prior icon, released in 2005, was largely criticized for not presenting any useful advice in and of itself about food intake, but only requiring people to go online to a website for personalized food recommendations.
“USDA finally got the message,” said Director of Isagenix Research and Science Susie Rockway, Ph.D. “No one understands what the food pyramid was trying to convey. Now our government officials have simplified the message.”
More about the new food icon can be found at ChooseMyPlate.gov.
The new Guidelines are mainly focused on improving consumer eating habits to reduce the prevalence of obesity in the country. (See Dr. Rockway’s full summary here.) In short, they deliver the same message that Isagenix has emphasized for the last eight years—that is, to manage weight by eating less energy-dense foods and replacing them with more nutrient-dense foods.
The Guidelines messages include balancing calories, avoiding oversized portions, making half of plates fruits and vegetables, switching to fat-free or low-fat dairy products, choosing foods lower in sodium, and drinking  water instead of sugary drinks.
Once again, we encourage you to look to Isagenix as a way to help you meet the new Guidelines or even exceed them.
For example, we know nutrients that are low in our diets include calcium, vitamin D, B12, and potassium—all insufficiencies that can potentially be worsened by dieting. Also, we know that fast foods typically account for a major amount of sodium in a person’s diet; and sugary drinks often account for much of the extra calories. And, we know that Americans are getting only about half of the recommended amounts of dietary fiber they should be receiving.

By consuming products such as IsaLean Shakes or Bars, Ageless Essentials Daily Pack, SlimCakes, FiberSnacks!, IsaFruits and Greens!, Isagenix can help you stay on the right track and gain more out of life with optimal health.

For more information contact Brenda Bailey @ brenda.bailey.1@hotmail.com

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