The so-called Eatwell Plate has come under fire in the European Parliament. Given that the diet is primarily based in starchy foods it has been branded “misguided”.
Currently dietary guidelines claim that meals should include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, paired with low or reduced-fat cheese and yogurts. The latter of these are inevitably filled with chemicals and are highly processed.
The carb-laden Eat Well plate was first published in 1983 and has undergone several revisions, none of which addresses the problems. The latest version released by Public Health England on behalf of the NHS is officially known as the Eatwell Guide. According to gov.uk, it is a “policy tool used to define government recommendations on eating healthily and achieving a balanced diet”.
However, campaigning cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra (a good friend to ProLongevity) together with other colleagues namely the Queen’s former personal physician Sir Richard Thompson, and nutritionist Sarah Macklin, all called for a re-evaluation of the official guidelines that promote carbs, arguing instead for a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean-style diet to help prevent type 2 diabetes and other related life threatening conditions.
Dr Malhotra said: “If all UK diabetics were to follow guidelines reflecting the independent scientific evidence and ignore current low-fat diet government guidelines, it would reduce dependency on diabetes drugs and insulin by over 50 per cent, saving the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds annually”
“Basing diets on starchy foods is misguided and in my view, has been a direct cause of the obesity crisis. For decades, fat has been demonised and led to a huge market in low-fat products, a problem made worse by commercial influence. A complete dietary guidelines overhaul would reverse obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease and save billions every year.”
Healthy proteins, including meat and fish, are afforded a much lower priority on the plate by comparison with starchy foods, yet it is scientifically and clinically proven that they play a pivotal role in the human diet. For example, fish and seafood contain numerous micronutrients: far more than fruit and vegetables, especially “below-ground” vegetables.
Overall, it seems that education must be the way forward when it comes to choosing a truly healthy diet. The Eatwell Guide in one form or another has become a universal reference point throughout the industrialized world. The question is WHY? It is anything but healthy! The answer as ever… the profitability of the processed food industry- or to put it another way “Follow the Money, Honey”
See above: our version of the plate demonstrates just how sugar-laden it is!