We’re all familiar with the quad-chromatic food pyramid: yellow for carbohydrates, green for fruits and vegetables, blue for milk and dairy, and red for meat and protein.
But it’s time to get ready for a change.
“The guide was published in the early 1990s, and we know since that time the science, with respect to the link between diet and health, had been updated,” said Health Canada spokesperson Carol Saindon. Health Canada began reevaluating the food guide several years ago, deciding early last year to undertake a full revision, due next spring.
But what changes are needed? Some people, like fourth-year psychology specialist Nancy Kohli, are looking for more specific nutritional information. “If you know the food groups already, why would you go back to [the guide] unless it said how many calories are in the foods you usually eat or how many calories you should eat in a day?” she asks.
Luckily for Kohli, Health Canada has teamed up with Stats Canada to determine what everyday eaters are craving.
“We surveyed the teachers, public health practitioners, dieticians, and consumers on how they use the guide. [We] asked ‘Is it easy to use?’ and ‘Are there things you’d change to make it better?'” Saindon said.
Although the jury is still out, with several consultations still planned before the new guide is released, Saindon mentioned some additions we are likely to see.
“Some of the users of the guide pointed out there were some graphic elements that could be revised to make the guide more relevant,” she said. “And there were also some more technical elements of the guide, such as serving sizes, to be changed because people said they didn’t always know what ‘5-12 portions’ means.”
Other changes will include considering ethnic foods and diets, providing information for those who follow alternative diets such as vegetarianism, lowering the applicability to children as young as two, and understanding that “a 5’2″, 120-pound female will have different nutritional needs than a 6’2″, 190-pound male,” said Saindon.
But while revamping the rainbow sounds bright and cheery, its use on campus may be slim.
“I’m familiar with [the food guide] but don’t use it,” said Meghan McNeil, a fourth-year English and history major. “I don’t care, I guess. You know the basics: dairy, vegetables, and so on. I don’t care about the exact perfect amounts.”
McNeil does not plan to check out the new food guide in the spring, because she knows when her self-proclaimed good habits begin to slack off.
“You feel gross if you don’t get enough vegetables, for example,” she said. “Your body can tell you.”
Navid Anvari, a second-year physics student also has few qualms about his eating style, downing french fries and Coke for lunch last week at Sid’s Southside Café. “I don’t really think about [eating] that much, but I try to be healthy once and a while. I always thought it didn’t matter as much what you eat as long as you have an active lifestyle.”
Anvari has the right idea, but most university students don’t have the time needed to exercise away the excess fat and calories of a fast food diet.
“There’s a general weight gain when [students] leave home, because they eat fast food,” said Dr. Thomas Wolever, a U of T professor of nutritional science. “One would encourage people to take control of their eating by doing more food preparation themselves.” He advised decreasing pop intake and eating three meals a day to attain optimum health.
“It’s also the energy expenditure thing,” he said. “Do sports and keep active. There are plenty of opportunities on campus for people to stay active.”
So whether there’s a new-and-improved rainbow in your future or not, some extra leafy greens and time on the basketball court couldn’t hurt. In fact, it will probably help.
Keep your eyes open for the new Canada Food Guide when it is released this upcoming spring. For more information and updates, visit Health Canada’s website at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/index_e.html.
