"Healthy" from the Plate of the USDA

Well, the U.S. Department of Agriculture food pyramid has just gotten a makeover! 

MyPlate is the colorful, new, in your face, pay attention to me ad campaign!  MyPyramid, the prior ad campaign, was based on the Food Pyramid, and like Madonna or Britney, it was just time for a redo.

Statistically, we as a nation are not getting healthier, we're getting sicker.  So, it's time to wake up the public — we are in crisis! 

Yep, we are a fat, overweight, diabetic bound, heart diseased, downward spiraling nation of fast food ad campaigns that scream louder than the USDA food pyramid, MyPyramid or MyPlate ever could: CRISIS!!

Wait, maybe the USDA and lobbyists in Washington are in cahoots? No!? They have our best interests at hand, right?!  Think again!  Take a look at the plate.  Here sits this bright, beautiful plate, telling us what we need to know as a nation to keep ourselves and our family healthy.  What's a mom to do?!  READ the labels. Take responsibility for your own opinion, your own health and the health of your family.

Yes, there is some really great information to be gleaned from MyPlate.gov. Vegetables, Grain, Fruit, Protein and Dairy. We all need to eat our vegetables! Greens, specifically, actually lots of them! (For this I give them 5 stars, as it's the largest section on MyPlate).

But, as Dr. Andrew Weil has so aptly pointed out in his blog post, they make no distinction is made between fruit juices and fruits.

Protein comes from MANY sources and guess what?! Grains and greens have protein.  So do nuts, beans and legumes.  It's not all about animal proteins. MyPlate misses bringing awareness to these other sources of protein, BUT it does not push the over abundance of animal protein it used to!  Dairy, low fat precisely, is not necessarily healthier for you than full fat.  In fact in the Dec. 21, 2010 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, it shows that there is a natural substance in dairy fat, (trans-palmitoleic acid), that may substantially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

What is missing from the plate is, water (ah...not in the glass!).  Water is the basis of true health and wellness.  You can live without food for weeks, but you can't live without water for more than 3 days. We NEED water to grow, just like plants.

Watering yourself creates homeostasis, health. It also:

• Detoxifies
• Acts as a natural hunger suppressant (want to loose weight?!)
• Moisturizes the skin
• Aids in digestion and prevents constipation
• Gets rid of headaches and helps with reduction of migraines
• Acts as the transportation system for everything that enters your body
• Is the elixir of youth! And,
• Hydrates you!

Take a look at your plate and then take a look at MyPlate.gov.  It's about getting yourself educated, demanding real information about what you and your family need to ingest. MyPlate.gov is an opinion by the USDA, not a decree.  Follow your own instincts, get educated.  The government is tied to the big pharmaceutical companies, beef, poultry, dairy, grain, soybean and corn lobbies at the expense of our health as a nation.  The thinking is if we keep people sick, we can keep big pharma happy!  The beef, poultry and dairy industry needs to be kept happy too.  Let's not forget the GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) Monsanto monster corn, soybean and grains.  Just so you know, Monsanto develops and markets genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, AND is extremely aggressive with it's litigation, political lobbying practices, seed commercialization practices and "strong-arming" of the seed industry!  So, let's make sure Monsanto is kept happy.

Follow the money and drink your water.