The new food pyramid from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services is inverted, flipping around a lot of food recommendations too.<\/p>\n
It puts meat and dairy on top as healthy diet priorities, while previous models ranked these foods lower. Fruits and vegetables remain high up on the pyramid, while whole grains are lower in priority.<\/p>\n
The pyramid does not show how much of these foods Americans should eat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first food pyramid, launched in 1992, showed how much of each food group Americans should eat, emphasizing grains like bread and rice, then fruits and veggies, and less meat and dairy.<\/p>\n
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The \u201cMyPlate\u201d model showed how much of different foods people should have on their plate. That is the guide that had been used since 2011, suggesting people\u2019s biggest portions should be vegetables and grains, followed by fruits, protein, and dairy.<\/p>\n
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The message of the new model and guidelines from the USDA is \u201ceat real food.\u201d Officials more strongly recommend avoiding highly processed foods like cookies and chips, opting for fresh foods and home-cooked meals instead.<\/p>\n
They also encourage full-fat dairy items and about double the recommended portion of daily protein.<\/p>\n
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Michele Polacsek, a professor of public health at the University of New England, said there are some guideline changes she thinks are positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I’m more happy about in these guidelines is the emphasis on real food, whole foods, and less processed foods for one\u2019s diet. That\u2019s a meaningful step in the right direction,\u201d Polacsek explained.<\/p>\n
But she said she has some concerns about putting red meat and dairy at the top of the pyramid.<\/p>\n
\u201cRed meat and full fat-dairy have saturated fat in them, and most people in this country, including children, already consume too much saturated fat,\u201d she said. \u201cPromoting red meat and full-fat dairy both for adults and children will just mean that they\u2019ll be at higher risk for heart disease and other chronic conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
RELATED: A new food pyramid has been released. Here’s what it says you should eat<\/a><\/p>\n She added that it is important people eat enough protein, but there are many ways to consume protein without extra fats.<\/p>\n Looking at what this guidance will mean in Maine, the primary thing the new recommendations impact is school lunches.\u00a0The National School Lunch Program Meal Pattern<\/a>, the guide for what\u2019s served in schools, is based on these recommendations.<\/p>\n Polacsek said schools could end up serving more meat and dairy and less ultra processed foods. She said significantly reducing processed foods would be hard for many schools to adopt.<\/p>\n \u201cSchools don’t have the equipment or personnel to do more scratch cooking; that is a problem,\u201d Polacsek said. \u201cI think it’s a little bit unrealistic to expect schools will be able to follow these guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n The Maine Department of Education said it is awaiting further guidance from the USDA, and any changes to school lunches would not take effect until the 2027-2028 school year.<\/p>\n For more local stories continue with us on our NEWS CENTER Maine+ streaming app.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n