Good Advice
Dr. Frank Lipman gives his Rx to MyPlate
Everyone who’s ever eaten a meal has something to say about MyPlate, the USDA’s recently-released dietary guidelines that replaced the confusing food pyramid of yore.
We turned to Frank Lipman, M.D., New York City’s most well-known integrative physician (and celeb go-to doctor), for some insight into the debated diagram.
“It’s definitely an improvement,” says Dr. Lipman, who considers food and dietary habits a form of medicine. “It has more fruits and veggies, and I like the idea of a plate.”
But it still could be much better, he says, starting with the proportions. Here’s Dr. Lipman’s Rx:
• 50 percent veggies
• 25 percent protein and fats, including legumes, nuts and seeds, free-range eggs, select fish, and grass-fed meats
• 15 percent fruit
• 10 percent whole grains
Dr. Lipman likes the plate idea, but would change what the USDA's put on it
And the dietary guidelines omit a handful of important details. Here are five factors Dr. Lipman recommends you keep in mind:
1. Not all protein is created equal. “For instance, factory farmed meats are unhealthy, as opposed to grass-fed meats, which are not,” he says. The guidelines should make distinctions between them and between types of fish that are high in mercury or higher in omega-3s.
2. Ditto for fruits and veggies. “It doesn’t differentiate between fruit and fruit juice, which is mainly just sugar.” Emphasis should be placed on lower sugar fruits like berries and on green, leafy and brightly-colored vegetables.
3. The guidelines recommend making at least half your grains whole grains, but they should ALL be whole grains. Dr. Lipman also cautions against too much gluten.
4. No dairy. “I’m not a fan of dairy products as a source of calcium—or anything, for that matter,” says Dr. Lipman.
5. Most importantly, “Somewhere it should mention the quality of nutrients and not just the quantity,” he says. Nutrient-dense food is key, no matter what the portions on your plate look like. —Lisa Elaine Held
Does he mean “No Dairy.” in that it shouldn’t be a part of the food diagram or that everyone should omit it from their diets?
I’m not a fan of blindly suggesting that everyone omit an entire food group from their diets. This might be possible and healthy for the celebrities that consider him their go-to doctor, but for regular people and especially for individuals living below the poverty line, the greens and nuts they would have to eat year-round to make up for the calcium they get from milk/dairy are not readily available/affordable options, and many people just don’t know how to cook with them at all.
I’m not saying that milk is the greatest source of calcium, but to suggest eliminating it is just going to add osteoporosis to the list of health problems plaguing this country.
I understand your complaint Alaura, but where calcium is concerned, dairy products actually contribute to osteoporosis. I am no expert, but my understanding is that dairy products acidify the body, and in order to neutralize this effect your body will actually then leach calcium from the bones. Cultures that eat minimal dairy products actually suffer from less osteoporosis.
[...] –A doctor takes on MyPlate. (Well + Good NYC) [...]
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Interesting info, Blake! Thanks. I’ll have to look more into that.
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