Chapter 2: Canada’s Food Guide and Harvard Recommendations
Problems with Canada’s Food Guide
The Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating should be something that is created based on evidence and lead Canadians to eat in a way that minimizes their risk of developing various diseases like obesity; however, the Food Guide is adulterated and flawed.
Canada's Food Guide
Canada's Food Guide
The revision of the Food Guide is unbelievably inaccurate as food manufacturers were involved in the revision process and evidence from researches were dismissed (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/canadas-food-guide-to-unhealthy-eating.html).
Involvement of the Food Industry in the Revision Process
Health Canada began the revision of the 1992 Food Guide in 2003. The Food Guide Advisory Committee that Health Canada has appointed consists of 12 members, four of which are from the food industry. Although the committee also consisted of nutrition and health experts, the food guide should be made based on science and health interests and not on the interest of businesses. "I can't think of anyone with greater conflicts of interest in the creation of a food guide than the folks who sell and promote the food," wrote Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, in 2006 (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/big-food-has-seat.html; Schwartz, 2012, http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/the-politics-of-food-guides-1.1268575).
Out of the guests to the invite-only revision event, one third represented the food industry.
These included:
Brewers of Canada
The Canadian Meat Council
The Canadian Sugar Institute
The Canola Council of Canada
The Confectionery Manufacturers Association of Canada
Dairy Farmers of Canada
Edible Oil Foods Association of Canada
Food and Consumer Products Manufacturers of Canada
Kellogg Canada Inc.
Refreshments Canada
Weston Bakeries Limited
The Beef Information Centre
Interestingly enough, on November 4th, 2007, Health Canada removed its list of stakeholders and replaced it with a paragraph saying that "Invitees to the meeting included representatives from a broad range of national stakeholder organizations, such as health professional associations, non-governmental organizations, consumer groups, universities [and] academics, food industry and trade organizations and federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments. Approximately 200 stakeholders were invited; about 110 stakeholders attended the meeting" (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/big-food-has-seat.html).
The Food Industry are stakeholders and should be informed of changes to the food guide because, ultimately, the changes will determine what customers purchase and in turn whether or not they will lose or gain revenues. However, this does not mean that they need to be involved in the revision process. They should simply be advised of the changes that Health Canada makes and should not be the one helping to make the changes. The Food Industry should not be blamed for accepting the invitations because that is what they need to do in order to protect their companies. Health Canada should be blamed for sending out the invitations (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/big-food-has-seat.html).
The Food Guide was supposed to be made based on medicine. It was meant to be the best recommendation for the daily intake of foods in order to protect and improve the health of Canadians. In order to prevent biases in such a clinical practice guideline, all sources of influence and personal interests should be eliminated; however, this was not the case for Health Canada and the Guide (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/big-food-has-seat.html).
Another downside to the Food Guide is that the recommendations it had were made based on what Canadians were already eating instead of steering Canadians towards healthy eating. Health Canada did not consider the medical evidence and did not recommend diets that would minimize the risk for diseases. This method of making the recommendations is flawed since most Canadians eat a lot of red meat, potatoes and refined grains. Statistics show that over 40 percent of the vegetables that Canadians consume are potatoes, and over half of these are eaten as french fries or potato chips. According to Health Canada’s model, there would be approximately 40 percent chance that potatoes will be added as a vegetable choice. Although potatoes do contain nutrients, there are risks involved with mass consumption of them. They increase blood sugar and insulin levels as fast as table sugar does and they also increase the risk of type II diabetes (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/big-food-has-seat.html). Type II diabetes will be discussed in more detail in chapter three.
French Fries
French Fries
Dr. Walter Willett, the chair of nutrition at Harvard University since 1991, said in this book, Eat, Drink and be Healthy that "More than two hundred studies have shown that people who eat plenty of fruits and vegetables decrease their chances of having heart attacks or strokes, of developing a variety of cancers or of suffering from constipation or other digestive problems. The same body of evidence shows that potatoes don't contribute to this benefit. Potatoes should be an occasional food, eaten in modest amounts, not a daily vegetable" (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/broken-from-get-go.html).
Healthy food choices were ignored because the current foods that Canadians consume already met the requirements for macronutrients and micronutrients. The Guide was modelled to guide people to meet the daily nutrient requirements; however, the food is much more important than just the nutrients because people eat food and not nutrients (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/at-least-youll-get-enough-zinc.html; Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/broken-from-get-go.html).
Refined Grains
Refined Grains
Health Canada recommends that half of a person’s diet should be refined carbohydrates. Whole grains reduce the risks for heart diseases, diabetes, and stroke. Diets with white bread and white rice increase the risks of diabetes and doubles the risks of metabolic syndromes. Viewing the April 2006 draft version of the Food Guide, Dr. Walter Willett said, "refined grains have little nutritional value and thus provide empty calories, reduce HDL cholesterol, raise triglycerides, are thus not surprisingly related to higher risks of type II diabetes and coronary heart disease. Refined grains should be on the list of foods to minimize, along with saturated fat;" however, Health Canada claims that refined carbohydrates lower the risks for neural tube defects (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/please-eat-white-bread.html).
Health Canada tells people that all fat is bad and limits the fat intake to a small amount. However, the type of fat one consumes is more important than the amount of fat that is consumed. Those who consume trans fats and saturated fats are at higher risks of developing heart diseases. Those fats would raise the LDL bad cholesterol level, lower HDL good cholesterol level, raise triglycerides, and increase blood viscosity and risk for blood clots. The total amount of fat in a person’s diet is not directly linked to heart diseases. Rather, countries such as Crete that has the highest intake of fats has had the lowest rates for heart diseases. The Center for Science estimated that eliminating trans fats from the North American food supply will prevent approximately 11000 to 30000 deaths each year, saving about $50 billion dollars used to cover the health care. Unsaturated fats are the healthy fats. Monounsaturated fats are found in foods such as avocados and polyunsaturated fats are found in whole grains and fish. The Food Guide encourages the reduction of fat intake, when it is really the trans and saturated fats that are required to be replaced with unsaturated fats (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/all-fat-is-bad.html). Chapter three will discuss the details of the types of fats.
The 1992 Food Guide recommended that one should have 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. That number has decreased to seven to eight servings for women and eight to ten servings for men in the ages of 19 to 50. That number has also decreased to seven servings for those who are over 51 years old. Health Canada explained that the reason behind the changes in servings is to reduce calorie intake. However, that brings into question of why Health Canada did not limit the potato, cheese, and lean beef intake which would have provided more calories. Approximately 40 percent of the Canadian vegetable intake comes from potatoes, half of which are consumed in the form of french fries and chips. Health Canada does not guide people to fewer potatoes or fried potatoes, but instead pretends that people do not eat fried products. Canada’s Food Guide also grouped together those above the age of 51 when someone who is 51 years old should really be eating differently than someone who is 81 years old. Leslie Carson, the manager of food and nutrition services at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Guelph, Ontario, said that “the hospital doesn't follow the food guide because the oldest age group covers people 51 [or older], and someone who's 81 normally should consume significantly less food than a 51-year-old” (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/eat-less-fruit-and-vegetables.html; Schwartz, 2012, http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/the-politics-of-food-guides-1.1268575).
Health Canada recommends large amounts of dairy products and they claim that these reduce osteoporosis and fractures. However, data show that high dairy consumption increases the risks of developing prostate cancer and ovarian cancer. Dairy also contributes to a large amount of saturated fats. It is not surprising to find that Big Dairy has representatives on every level of the decision making for the Food Guide (Freedhoff, 2006, http://www.weightymatters.ca/2006/11/drink-lots-and-lots-of-milk.html).
Dairy Products
Dairy Products
The Centre for Science in the Public Interest estimated that every year in Canada, 21000 to 47000 Canadians die from diet and weight related illnesses that cost taxpayers between $6.6 and $11 billion dollars each year. Canadians deserve a Food Guide that reflects medicine's best understanding of the effect of diet on chronic diseases. Obesity expert Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, had said that following the food guide will cause weight gain. Canadians deserve a Food Guide that will not make them gain weight if they followed it (Schwartz, 2012, http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/the-politics-of-food-guides-1.1268575).
The most significant problem about Canada’s Food Guide is that consumers do not even know about the revision process and the fact that the Guide has been modified for the profit of the food companies that were on the advisory committee. The general population do not realize that the Guide would actually lead to unhealthy eating, which is the exact opposite of what Health Canada claims the Guide to do. Therefore, people should follow recommendations that are based on solid research.
Comparison of Canada’s Food Guide to Harvard Recommendations
Harvard Health Publications and nutrition experts at the Harvard School of Public Health made a new Healthy Eating Plate that offers specific and accurate recommendations for a healthy diet. Harvard claims that its Healthy Eating Plate “is based on the most up-to-date nutrition research, and it is not influenced by the food industry or agriculture policy” (Harvard Health Publications, 2014, http://www.health.harvard.edu/plate/healthy-eating-plate).
Harvard Healthy Eating Plate
http://www.health.harvard.edu/plate/healthy-eating-plate
Canada’s Food Guide
In the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, fruits and vegetables account for half of a person’s diet, while the same category accounts for only about one third in Canada’s Food Guide. The Guide counts one cup of juice as a serving of fruit and does not limit the amount of juice intake while the Healthy Eating Plate limits the juice intake to one glass per day. Juice cannot substitute fruits because juice contain as much sugar and calories as sodas. The grain products, milk and alternatives, and the meat and alternatives categories account for more than 60 percent on Canada’s Food Guide. The Guide names its grain section, “Grain Products,” and recommends that only half of a person’s grain intake need to be whole grain; however, the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate shows the importance of whole grain by naming the category as “Whole Grains,” eliminating the consumption of highly refined grains altogether. Whole grains are much better for health. Refined grains like white bread are similar to sugar and eating too much of these increases the risk of heart diseases and diabetes. The Healthy Eating Plate limited the milk and dairy intake to one to two servings a day while the Guide recommended as high as four servings a day. High intakes are associated with increased risks of prostate and ovarian cancer. In addition, the Guide does not limit processed meat nor tell consumers about the types of meat that are healthier than others. The Healthy Eating Plate limits red meat intake since red meat increases the risk of heart diseases, diabetes, colon cancer and weight gain. A hamburger or a hot dog could qualify as a serving on the Guide. The Guide only tells consumers to avoid fats. Canada’s food guide varies from the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate in the percentages that each food group should be consumed daily. The Guide has also been influenced by many food manufacturers and should not be something that the general population follows (Harvard Health Publications, 2014, http://www.health.harvard.edu/plate/comparison-of-healthy-eating-plate-and-usda-myplate).
Another insufficiency of Canada’s Food Guide is that it generalized all body types of the same age and sex and recommended the same amount of servings for each food group. It does not provide the needed servings for someone who is smaller or larger in body mass. A Daily Food Plan program provided by the United States Department of Agriculture can be used to show that people who are of the same age and sex but with different body masses and exercise times would need very different amounts of foods from each food group. The program can be found using the link http://www.choosemyplate.gov/myplate/index.aspx. The two charts below show that the 18-year-old female with a smaller body mass and who exercise less needs less nutrients and food from each of the food groups. One general recommendation would not allow one to succeed and specific meal plans need to be developed.
Female
Age: 18 years old
Weight: 105 pounds or 47.6 kg
Exercise Time: Less than 30 minutes
Grains
|
5 ounces
|
Vegetables
|
2 cups
|
Fruits
|
1.5 cups
|
Dairy
|
3 cups
|
Protein
|
5 ounces
|
Female
Age: 18 years old
Weight: 139 pounds or 63kg
Exercise Time: more than 60 minutes
Grains
|
8 ounces
|
Vegetables
|
3 cups
|
Fruits
|
2 cups
|
Dairy
|
3 cups
|
Protein
|
6.5 ounces
|
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