The Food Pyramid

[suziek]

Why doesn't the food pyramid say it's just for Americans? It seems to be geared toward the food that Americans eat. I mean, it wouldn't fit in Mongolia, for example, where I'm sure they don't have an abundance of fruits and vegetables and wouldn't eat them if they did; or canola oil. So, how do we really know it's healthy? I wonder if they have food pyramids in other cultures and what they recommend for a balanced diet?

[johnson]

There are in fact food "pyramids" in other countries, though they're not all pyramids. The Washington Post had an article with a number of examples in the Food section 6-8 months ago.

[Short]

Obviously the other countries just use different geometric figures: some eat well rounded meals, others three square meals a day. :)

The food pyramid (at least the ones I remember) is clearly an Euro/Americanized version of a diet. Dairy, for example, is recommended (or at least was), which is absurd internationally (or even for many Americans).

As many as 75 percent of all African-Americans and Native Americans and 90 percent of Asian-Americans are lactose intolerant. The condition is least common among persons of northern European descent.

Source: http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/lactose/lactose.htm

[toadspittle]

Originally posted by Short

As many as 75 percent of all African-Americans and Native Americans and 90 percent of Asian-Americans are lactose intolerant. The condition is least common among persons of northern European descent.

Source: http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/lactose/lactose.htm

My understanding was that lactose tolerance is an aberration that is the result of a genetic mutation. In other words, the "normal" state is for human adults to not be able to digest lactose.