Almond Milk Is Dairy? Consume Cheerios Often? The Tufts Food Pyramid Should Be Ignored By First Responders (or anyone) With Fitness Goals
How are researchers recommending that processed cereal should be consumed often and unsweetened almond milk is a protein source?
I’m not big on writing articles on just being a critic. In fact, one of my favorite quotes that was displayed where I used to work in the military is one I revisit often:
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” -Theodore Roosevelt, Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
I don’t think anyone who spent time in strength and conditioning couldn’t read the nutrition recommendations from Tuft University and couldn’t ask themselves how anyone, with a PhD or otherwise, could come up with this system. This research has apparently been around for a few years now, but as of late it has gotten some attention. Below is one of the diagrams from the “Food Compass” program:
I previously wrote about practical nutrition advice for first responders. Below is the diagram I created and use to help people:
This is what a simple and repeatable system looks like to create a meal. It is not perfect for everyone, as nothing is. This just assists someone trying to get their diet on track. These servings are not set in stone, but for many this provides some portion control without needing measuring devices. A fit police officer who trains 5 times a week may have 2 servings of protein, as many servings of vegetables as they want, 2-3 servings of carbohydrates, 2 servings of fat, etc. This diagram just illustrates a starting point.
If someone cleaning up their lifestyle in 2023 followed this, a meal could be a serving of salmon, asparagus, rice, and maybe a little fruit of their choice. Cook everything in olive oil and you’re done. The main thing here is encouraging less processed foods. Once you can do this feel free to go keto, cut grains, carb cycle, whatever...but if you can’t cut out the junk first start here.
Now let’s grab a map and food compass and build a meal based off of Tuft’s recommendations. Same hypothetical police officer (or anyone) I’m trying to help who is almost a type II diabetic walks into a grocery store. The officer proceeds to avoid most protein sources, but grabs a cappuccino and some fruit. Oooook.
More diagrams for Tufts (higher number means consume more often):
There is more and can be found in their data section, but let’s stay here for now. If a person was trying to get their body composition under control, the carbohydrates most recommended are highly processed cereal. The only bread in the 70-100 score is Ethiopian Bread. Which I am sure is delicious but this is literally the first time I have ever seen the words “Ethiopian” and “bread” next each other, and I have been reading about nutrition for almost two decades. Wheat bread should be consumed less often, and rye bread should just be avoided, but instant oatmeal is great. I am not trying to start an argument about bread, but how are any of these foods meaningfully different?
For the seafood, dairy, eggs, and meat section you’ll see that unsweetened almond milk comes in at a score of 86. A food that is neither seafood, dairy, eggs, or meat. Trying not to black out, I thought maybe this section was intended to score protein sources...almond milk has around one gram of protein. Beef Steak comes in at 33, a score barely in the “moderation” category. Worth noting, a “fast food fish stick” edges out steak at a score of 40...(starts breathing into a paper bag)
The United States has been dealing with an obesity epidemic for years. It is getting so bad that instead of looking at lifestyle choices, parental education, etc., some doctors are now recommending medication and gastric bypass surgery for kids who are obese. I am not offering medical advice, but this seems quite drastic for something that for the vast majority of cases is lifestyle related.
Per the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death of men and women in the United States. Originally, everyone blamed saturated fat from meat. Then new studies showed there was insignificant data to prove this. Typically, the rule that seems to hold over time is the more processed a food is, the worse it is. Specifically processed carbohydrates, which make our bodies react like we are slamming table sugar. Is there a way to measure our bodies response to this?
Glycemic index (GI) is a scale, 0-100, that measures the body’s blood sugar response to food compared to sugar. Easy examples that have been measured: meat comes in at 0, and pure sugar at 100. This measurement is not always clear as combining foods can bring these numbers down. Regardless, the number one recommended grain from the food compass has a GI of 74. That is high. Hold that thought.
Decades of research show high glycemic foods are associated to heart disease. This study found from 1909-1997 the consumption of refined carbohydrates, specifically corn syrup, along with less fiber, correlated to the prevalence of Type II diabetes in the United States. That is a long time and a lot of data. Of course Americans have gotten more sedentary, which has also contributed.
Worth noting, high GI is not always a bad thing, all depends on context. Eating a high GI food like a ripe banana after a workout for a low body fat percentage trainee is not the same as an overweight person just eating a banana or a chemistry experiment that comes in a box. Speaking of chemistry experiment in a box, look at Cheerios again. Below are the ingredients of the number one recommended grain from Tufts:
First ingredient, whole grain oats. For some people, not bad. Then sugar, corn starch, honey, and brown sugar syrup. That might as well read: sugar, sugar, sugar, and more sugar. This should come with an insulin injection.
I don’t know how these recommendations help anyone trying to get a hold of their health and fitness in 2023. With all the longitudinal data in existence, I cannot make sense of how an institution of higher education could do this. I’ll borrow from Dan John here with nutrition advice: Eat like an Adult.
The “food compass” actively discourages this through it’s own ranking system. Please, if you’re law enforcement and you’re trying to get in shape this year start with this: avoid processed foods. Eat protein, vegetables, drink water, and work out a few times a week. Some starchy unprocessed carbohydrates are fine.
There is more nuance to this. However, in five seconds I just gave you better advice than anything recommended in this system. Let common sense guide you to a healthier 2023, not research that recommends specific brands for food consumption.
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