How The Government Ruined Nutrition Guidelines
If you’ve known me for any extended period of time you’ve inevitably found out that I have total disdain for the federal government. That used to be a relatively obscure opinion but over the past decade, I feel like it’s become relatively mainstream in a lot of ways. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, and maybe it’s because I pay more attention now but I’ve realized that the government sucks at just about everything.
Unnecessary wars, congressional slush funds for paying off sexual abuse accusers (this is a real thing), “foreign aid” (we all know what kind of money laundering goes on here), subsidies to multi-billion dollar industries, bank bailouts, etc. There seems to be a never-ending list of nonsense that we as the taxpayers are on the hook for.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, the vast majority of people who go off to Congress are a few things:
They’re not experts in anything
They’d sell their soul for one more vote
They don’t care about you until campaign season when they need your money and votes
They pass bills written by lobbyists that they’ve never even read
They’re all on the take when it comes to lobbying money
They’re just biding their time so they can have a cushy job at one of the megacorporations that they’re currently actually working for
While our article today focuses mostly on the federal government, this isn’t limited to them. I live in a county that is currently selling residential building permits to the highest bidder while we don’t have the infrastructure to support it. I live 7.3 miles from my gym, but it oftentimes takes me upwards of a half hour to get here if I’m driving at the wrong time of day.
While I feel like I could rant all day about this we should probably get back to the task at hand. Today we’re going to talk about how the government helped destroy our health with The Food Pyramid.
What Is the Food Pyramid
I’m sure you all remember learning about the food pyramid back in high school (depending on how old you are), but do you know where it came from? The food pyramid originated in Sweden in the 1970s and was eventually adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1992. While the food pyramid was touted as the healthy way to eat, it was actually a response to high food costs. There were actual protests in the streets in Sweden over rising food costs, and the government decided that they would lay out a healthy way to eat on a budget.
In 1974 the first food pyramid was rolled out to the public with the tagline of “a good, healthy diet at a reasonable price.” This food pyramid consisted of three tiers
The foods that were considered essential to one’s well-being. This included cereals, dairy products, pasta, and potatoes. These were considered the basic essentials.
Fruits and vegetables were placed in the center and considered complimentary foods that provided vitamins and minerals that were not found in the essentials.
Meats, fish, and eggs were placed at the top and also considered complimentary foods that provided vitamins and minerals that were not found in the essentials.
The pyramid was a visual representation that would be easily understood by the general public. It made its way to various countries in the coming years including Sri Lanka, Denmark, and Japan. As mentioned before the United States would not adopt these guidelines until 1992 when the Department of Agriculture released their version.
The version adopted by the US Department of Agriculture was a little bit different from the original Swedish food pyramid. The US added a black background, moved dairy higher up on the pyramid with meats, and separated fruits from vegetables (you need both not one or the other).
Over the years this visual (and some of the guidelines) have changed. The United States now uses a plate, Thailand uses a flag, Canada uses a rainbow (shocker), Japan uses a spinning top, and other countries have put their cultural twist onto the original pyramid design.
Growing up, we were never told that this pyramid was in response to rising food costs. We were only told that it was just the way we were supposed to eat. I think this is important to understand so we can comprehend how flawed this model truly is. Grains are cheap compared to meat and dairy, and this pyramid reflected that reality. In this next section, we’ll talk about the actual guidelines in the American Food Pyramid.
Nutritional Guidelines
So we’ve established that we stole this food pyramid from the Swedes, who were just trying to give everyone enough information about nutrition so they could remain somewhat healthy during times of rising food costs (typically inflationary).
Around the time the Department of Agriculture (USDA) was using the food pyramid to push grains (more on that later), the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) decided that nutritional labels needed to be put on food products in 1994. I’m actually a big fan of this move. While calorie counts can be off by upwards of 20%, this at least gave people an understanding of what they were eating. You’d be surprised how ignorant people can be on this topic (I had a client who didn’t realize wine had calories). This move at least gave us somewhat of an understanding of what kinds of macronutrients (fats/proteins/carbs) we were eating. This was a win for the American people.
The FDA decided to base all percent values of the foods on the labels off of a 2,000 calorie diet. 2,000 calories was chosen because that was believed to be the average of what Americans should be eating at the time. Some people would need to eat more, and some would need to eat less. But one thing was certain: we all thought we were supposed to eat 2,000 calories per day to maintain our weight and health. This was a HUGE messaging problem for the FDA and I don’t know that it’s even been solved to this day. I still have clients who believe they should be basing their nutrition on those labels.
While the percentages on the labels were based on a 2,000 calorie diet, they were also broken down by food pyramid values. The nutritional label values were broken down into the following:
No more than 585 calories from fat - 65 grams
This is roughly 30%
At least 1200 calories from carbohydrates - 300 grams
This is roughly 60%
Approximately 200 calories from protein - 50 grams
This is roughly 10%
Also included
25 grams of fiber included in the carbohydrate count
No more than 20 grams of saturated fat included in the fat content
Less than 2500mg of sodium
If you ate based on the values on the label, you’d more than likely be following the food pyramid. This is the nutrition advice that was given to us by our government overlords. Even for an active population, this is a horrendous way to eat. There’s way too little protein, not nearly enough fat, and entirely too many carbohydrates. But for the average sedentary person, this pyramid is almost completely inverted from what they should be eating. This has more than likely contributed to the obesity epidemic that we’re currently in, although it isn’t the only reason. We’ll talk about that next.
Obesity Rates in America
Obesity rates have been steadily rising in the United States and have reached epic proportions. It’s now said that 41.9% of Americans are obese. Not overweight, OBESE. Another 30.7% of Americans are overweight bringing the grand total to 72.6% of Americans being overweight or obese. That’s 217.8 million Americans whose health is in a terrible place due to their diets (and lack of exercise).
And don’t @ me with “sOmE PeOpLe CaN’t HeLp It!!” because yes, SOME people can’t help it. The percentage of Americans who have a metabolic disease that isn’t self-inflicted via lack of diet and exercise is less than 1%. Now, that’s not 1% of Americans, that 1% of people who are overweight or obese which is roughly 2 million people, out of the 217 million. Odds are if you’re overweight or obese you’re not one of them. Get to work.
I’ve included a graphic depicting the rates of both obesity and severe obesity in the United States. This graph only goes through 2018 but it gives us the information we need to see what effects both the food pyramid and nutrition guidelines had on the American population. The food pyramid was introduced in 1992, and nutrition guidelines were introduced in 1994. Where do we see the giant jumps in obesity? That’s right, between 1988 and 2000. While this is only correlative data, I think we can infer there is some level of causation as well. But how did the food pyramid do this? Glad ya asked!
The food pyramid pushed grains and carbohydrates onto a population that was fairly sedentary. They’re abundant and cheap. Carbohydrates are used for energy, and when you don’t require a ton of energy because you’re not moving around a whole bunch those carbohydrates (even the complex ones) get converted to glucose and eventually fat. It’s a whole lot more detailed than that, but that’s the jist of it. In addition to the USDA’s food pyramid, the FDA’s nutrition labels all being based on a 2000 calorie diet had many Americans overeating the wrong things. Remember, 2000 calories was the average which means most people were over or undereating without realizing it.
While I used to believe this information was created with the best of intentions, as I’ve gotten older I now believe that this was done for one reason: $$$$$.
Problems With The Food Pyramid
As we’ve discussed earlier, this pyramid was created due to rising food costs, not just to give sound, nutritional guidelines. There are a lot of concerns when it comes to the food pyramid, here are a few:
Why were the foods categorized this way?
Sugar is at the top, but sugar is abundantly found in fruits which is in the middle. It is also a carbohydrate which is presented at the bottom of the pyramid.
Fats are at the top, but fats are in most meats and dairy.
Why do grains and potatoes make up most of our diet? (60%)
We know what grains are needed for and what they do in the body. We know what most peoples’ lifestyles are. This is concerning.
Why are fats and sugar considered to be basically the same when they are VERY different?
Their caloric density is different, the way they’re metabolized is different, and the hormonal repercussions of eating them are completely different.
The way this pyramid was put together really lacks reason or rationale. With all of the information we have it really makes very little sense. Now, I’m not one who goes super deep into the rabbit hole and thinks the government is trying to make us fat to keep us docile, but I’m fully aware that the government didn’t just put this pyramid together to help the health of the population. There was a lot of money involved.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
If you’re as old as me (or older, really), you probably remember the old Schoolhouse Rock after-school specials from the 70s. Disney put together various shows breaking down civics so kids could understand them. One three-minute cartoon was called How a Bill Becomes a Law. This three-minute special broke down the way a bill starts, how it moves through Congress, and eventually becomes a bill. Well, we were all lied to!
I was listening to a podcast episode with Matt Gaetz as a guest. They were discussing how bills become laws and the process of it is much different than what this cartoon laid out. A bill’s journey to law is the following:
A lobbyist approaches a Congressman/woman with an idea
That lobbyist lays out their case for why this new bill should be introduced to become law
The congressman/woman says “Sure! My campaign could really use some cash though” *wink wink*
The lobbyist then donates to this congressman’s campaign and gets to work on this bill
The lobbyist writes the bill and hands it off to the Congressman/woman and gives them the Cliffs Notes version so they’re prepared to debate it on the floor
The Congressman/woman presents the bill to be debated on.
More money is exchanged between congressmen and women’s campaigns, things are added to and taken out of the bill, and eventually, it is voted on.
If it passes, then it becomes law. If it doesn’t pass then the lobbyist will get back to work on another bill and try again.
I said at the beginning of this article that people in government know nothing, and I meant it. They’re not experts in anything, they’re merely mouthpieces for lobbyists, and some of the good ones really are representatives for their constituents. When they pass laws, they’re very ill-educated on most of the topics they vote on. It’s really wild when we’re talking about budgets consisting of trillions of dollars, and the people voting on these bills know nothing.
How Government Organizations Create Policy
Government organizations operate a little bit differently than our House and Senate operate. They don’t really create laws, but they do create policies that help shape the way things are done here in America. Think of the CDC Guidelines during COVID-19 or the USDA’s Food Pyramid, things like that. These policies aren’t really voted on (outside of legislation solidifying these policies), but instead appointed government officials create these policies. OSHA, the CDC, the USDA, the US Treasury, and the FDA are all examples of the kinds of government organizations that I’m talking about. They shape policy, but they never have to run for office so they don’t exactly have a way to hide payouts from lobbyists who are paying them to shape policy. So how do they do it?
Well, there’s a few different ways. One way is to guarantee these government officials cushy jobs when they retire if they’re willing to play ball. Another way is to donate to presidential campaigns expecting appointments to be made once they win office. Here’s an example:
Our candidate Mr. Popageorgio is running to be president of the United States. Now, Mr. Popageorgio is running on a platform of lowering taxes, reducing regulations, decreasing spending, and lowering the costs of prescription drugs for Americans, among others. Mr. Popageorgio is looking like he’s going to win, but the last 3 months of his campaign are going to be a battle.
Company X has a sitdown with Mr. Popageorgio’s people and lets them know that they’re interested in donating to one of his political action committees (one of the ways politicians are bought by corporations) because Company X truly believes in him. Mr. Popageorgio’s campaign staff is elated because they’re looking at a budgetary shortfall and may not be able to run enough ads during October, and now they can thanks to Company X. Yay!
Before, when Company X said they truly believed in Mr. Popageorgi they were lying. Some other members of Company X’s board were also having a meeting with Satan, who was running against Mr. Popageorgio. They gave him some money too, and now they have leverage over both candidates, as both candidates owe them favors for the campaign money. These favors are typically paid back in position appointments to these government organizations. This is really how it legitimately works. And presidents even have the total ability to say “Look at all this experience this person has in the industry! They’re a great hire!” And people believe them.
Now these companies have people on the inside working for the government and setting policy. If you look at many of the policies put forth by a lot of these government organizations, they’re not in the best interest of the people but in the best interest of an industry or company. And this is how we get pizza included as a fruit in our school lunches.
Ancel Keys, The Diet-Heart Hypothesis, and The Sugar Lobby
This goes way back to the 1960s. January 13, 1961, to be exact. There was a study put together by a man named Ancel Keys. Keys was a physiologist at Cambridge University and he appeared on the cover of Time Magazine touting his Diet Heart Hypothesis. Ancel Keys has had his hand in a lot of things: he created the K ration, modernized the BMI scale, and linked coronary heart disease to saturated fat consumption.
Keys came to this conclusion during his Seven Countries Study. The countries listed in this study were The US, Japan, Yugoslavia, Netherlands, Italy, Greece and Finland. They all had various cultures, various diets, and various outcomes when it came to heart health. They showed that increased consumption of saturated fats correlated with increased incidences of coronary heart disease. So he said.
Many say that he used these countries specifically because they confirmed his hypothesis. He called this hypothesis the Diet-Heart Hypothesis. While using these seven countries, he ignored countries like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway which had high levels of saturated fat consumption, while maintaining lower coronary heart disease. He also ignored countries like Chile which had low levels of saturated fat consumption, while having higher rates of coronary heart disease. Other data that did not support his hypothesis were selectively excluded, but all of that is outside of the scope of this article. Just know that the data was flawed from the beginning, but that didn’t stop Mr. Keys.
You see, Mr. Keys and other scientists had some money floated in his direction from the sugar lobby. This money was given to them to shift the blame from sugar consumption to saturated fat consumption when it came to heart disease. There was some information coming down the pipeline that sugar was really bad for people, and the sugar lobby couldn’t have that because that would mean less money. You can see the dilemma they were in.
This information shaped public policy on nutrition education. It shaped the leaders of the American Heart Association and other nongovernment organizations (NGOs). It also shaped policy at our government institutions because the government will lean on these NGOs and industry leaders when it comes to policy making and law passing. It’s a giant scam, and it has really hurt us as a population. The worst part? The scientists were paid in the neighborhood of $10,000. A few 10k donations netted the sugar industry trillions of dollars over decades. $13.2 billion in 2023 alone.
Wrapping This All Up
Now, there is A LOT more to this situation and we’re just brushing the surface. This article is already long enough so I’m going to close this one off here, so look out for part two later on!
The sugar industry handing out a few checks to a few scientists a few decades ago, helped shape our country’s waistlines for the past 70 years. It has led to disastrous outcomes, killed many people, and cost probably trillions of dollars in medical costs. Sugar is probably the biggest driving factor in our metabolic disease here in America, but it’s not the only one. Next time we’ll be talking about seed oils.
Moral of the story: Don’t listen to the government about everything. Seek unbiased information and put in the work to understand the data. This is your life we’re talking about, treat it with the respect it deserves.
