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CNN Live At Daybreak
Your Health: The Inverted Pyramid
Aired January 29, 2003 - 05:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the matter of your health, a Harvard professor says toss out that government food pyramid chart, it ain't any good. So many diet plans, so little time. What's a person to do?
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tells us about a brand new plan for eating healthy.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm here at a Barnes & Nobles surrounded by 500 diet books. That's not just one bookcase of diet books, not just two bookcases, not just three, four bookcases full of diet books. No wonder the public is confused because all these authors disagree with each other.
For example, this author here says eat meat, that's the way to go. But then this one here says, oh no, eat soy, that's the way to go. And now there's a book that says the government's plan for healthy eating has it all wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: (voice-over): Proteins, carbs, fruits, vegetables, good food, bad food, what's a dieter to do? Harvard Medical School's Dr. Walter Willett has come up with an idea that practically turns the government's food pyramid upside down.
Here's the difference. When it comes to carbohydrates, the old pyramid says eat 6 to 11 servings of any carbs you want. The new pyramid says cut that down to two to three servings a day and limit the carbs to whole grains. Eat other carbs sparingly.
As for fat, the old pyramid says eat fat sparingly. The new pyramid says fat is OK as long as it comes from a plant source such as olive or canola oil.
And for red meat, the old pyramid says two to three servings a day are OK. The new pyramid says eat red meat sparingly.
So to put it simply, the new pyramid, the one from Harvard, splits foods into good and bad lists. Good carbs are anything whole wheat. Bad carbs are anything white like white bread, rice or potatoes. Good proteins are beans, nuts and fish. Bad proteins are red meat.
Dr. Willett calls it the Mediterranean Diet.
DR. WALTER WILLETT, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: There's not one single right diet. And I think what we need to do is look at the Mediterranean Diet to provide some possible options, some alternatives to our present diet.
COHEN: Some people don't like Willett's Mediterranean Diet. They say he's too anti-meat and too much in favor of fat from other sources. But agree or disagree, it's a whole new paradigm of thinking about the way we eat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now in the story you heard that the Mediterranean food guide pyramid says eat red meat sparingly. Well what exactly does sparingly mean? Well, I called the folks at Harvard and they said that means eat red meat once or twice a month. Now the Mediterranean food guide pyramid also says drink wine, a glass or two a day.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 29, 2003 - 05:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: On the matter of your health, a Harvard professor says toss out that government food pyramid chart, it ain't any good. So many diet plans, so little time. What's a person to do?
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tells us about a brand new plan for eating healthy.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm here at a Barnes & Nobles surrounded by 500 diet books. That's not just one bookcase of diet books, not just two bookcases, not just three, four bookcases full of diet books. No wonder the public is confused because all these authors disagree with each other.
For example, this author here says eat meat, that's the way to go. But then this one here says, oh no, eat soy, that's the way to go. And now there's a book that says the government's plan for healthy eating has it all wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: (voice-over): Proteins, carbs, fruits, vegetables, good food, bad food, what's a dieter to do? Harvard Medical School's Dr. Walter Willett has come up with an idea that practically turns the government's food pyramid upside down.
Here's the difference. When it comes to carbohydrates, the old pyramid says eat 6 to 11 servings of any carbs you want. The new pyramid says cut that down to two to three servings a day and limit the carbs to whole grains. Eat other carbs sparingly.
As for fat, the old pyramid says eat fat sparingly. The new pyramid says fat is OK as long as it comes from a plant source such as olive or canola oil.
And for red meat, the old pyramid says two to three servings a day are OK. The new pyramid says eat red meat sparingly.
So to put it simply, the new pyramid, the one from Harvard, splits foods into good and bad lists. Good carbs are anything whole wheat. Bad carbs are anything white like white bread, rice or potatoes. Good proteins are beans, nuts and fish. Bad proteins are red meat.
Dr. Willett calls it the Mediterranean Diet.
DR. WALTER WILLETT, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: There's not one single right diet. And I think what we need to do is look at the Mediterranean Diet to provide some possible options, some alternatives to our present diet.
COHEN: Some people don't like Willett's Mediterranean Diet. They say he's too anti-meat and too much in favor of fat from other sources. But agree or disagree, it's a whole new paradigm of thinking about the way we eat.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now in the story you heard that the Mediterranean food guide pyramid says eat red meat sparingly. Well what exactly does sparingly mean? Well, I called the folks at Harvard and they said that means eat red meat once or twice a month. Now the Mediterranean food guide pyramid also says drink wine, a glass or two a day.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
