Russian Dietary Guidelines

Factual Questions
1

Hi,

This is a rather touchy subject that I don’t want to degenerate into some sort of an Atkins/Vegan fueled debate. My personal dietary views aside (most people find them somewhere from weird to repulsive) this question is about what I was taught by actual doctors in two different countries.

Russia is fairly well known for a relatively high-carbohydrate diet. As I was growing up it was instilled in me by the media, various doctors (including pediatricians, endocrinologists and dieticians), my parents and pretty much everybody else that had an opinion on the subject that carbohydrate-rich foods were very bad. The recommended diet (not for weight loss, just for regular life) was to treat processed grain-based products like pastas, cereals and breads as if they were chocolate cake. I’ve even heard the phrase along the lines “Pasta tastes good, but it’s a treat not a food” repeated several times. Now, I did not get exposed to a dissenting informed opinion until I got to the US. I mean, sure, most people in Russia do not follow this diet, and some, especially older people who lived through the war feel that everybody around them is constantly malnourished and needs more bread :slight_smile:

When we came to the US, I was studying the back of some product and noticed the USDA food pyramid. I showed it to my mother and at first she speculated it was some sort of a gag or a joke. After convincing her that they wouldn’t print a joke like that a bread bag, she hypothesized that perhaps since the bread maker printed the bag it was in their best interest to make their product appear the best, even if it’s irresponsible health-wise. Little did we know that this was actually a mainstream set of dietary guidelines that people, some of them doctors, actually believed. :eek: :eek: :eek: Now that I’m college educated and have been exposed to all sorts of different nutritional philosophies nothing shocks me anymore but I still find the USDA food pyramid kind of gross.

To surmise the differences in philosophies:

US: Whole grains, breads, pastas, cereals, unrefined and preferrably unprocessed. Then come the vegetables and fruits, then milk and meat, then fats, oils and nuts as if they were poison.

Russian (or my perception thereof): Lean meats, lean milk products and non-starchy vegetables should be the bulk of the diet. Supplemented with good grains/cereals like oatmeal and buckwheat and starchy vegetables like potatoes. Fruit for dessert. Things like breads, pastas, sugar, syrup, cake, pie, etc. all go into the same category of “special occasion”.

There’s no point in comparing the relative health of the populations because overeating and generally not following the dietary recommendations play a much more significant role than what the dietary recommendations are.

Now, ok, let me get to my set of GQs:

a) Is my perception of the general Russian dietary advice accurate for the era (early to mid 1990’s) or did I and everybody around me fall victim to some sort of a niche subculture of friends and doctors all spouting some sort of nouveaux pseudo-atkins propaganda? I am certain there is a definite difference, but how drastic it is might be exaggerated by family bias.

b) If there is in fact such a drastic difference, how did it come about historically? Was it a soviet thing or did this start before that? Did grain producers influence the USDA food pyramid more so than the meat producers? Were there specific people involved in formulating these, if so, I want names, damn it! :slight_smile:

I mean both kind of make sense, although the American dedication to grains is somewhat disturbing. Grains is what people eat cause they’re easy to grow and pack a lot of calories, store well, etc. They aren’t terribly good sources of things like fiber or vitamins (if you measure nutrient amount per calorie), and tax the digestive system (no cite, sorry, feel free to disprove me). I think technology pretty much made them obsolete, no?
Regards,

Groman

2

A Russian is gonna complain about American dietary guidelines! :smack:

Just kidding! Although I have been to Russia, so I know how Russians eat.

The food pyramid has been around since the 1950s at least. Every so often they try to replace it, but nobody can agree what to replace it with. What you see on food labels is bound to be “spin” on the FDA recommendations and the fad of the day.

Also, our understanding of the relationship between diet and health is always changing. So what is considered healthy today may not be considered healthy tomorrow.

Based on my studies of food, here’s what we seem to know:

[ul]
[li]People who eat a relatively few number of calories per day live longer. Nobody really knows why.[/li][li]A diet that is high in fat, particularly unhealthy fat, is not good for you.[/li][li]Foods that are high in cholesterol or lead to high cholesterol should be avoided by people whose family history shows cholesterol problems.[/li][li]A balance of protein, complex carbohydrate, and healthy fats is good.[/li][li]A good amount of exercise helps any dietary regimen.[/li][li]The best diet is one you can stick with.[/li][/ul]

We also know that you need to get vitamins, trace minerals, anti-oxidants, and calcium.

This information is clearly not something the FDA and USDA can put into a 1"x1" icon! Thus the food pyramid, with some of its misleading information.

Now to my background: I have struggled with obesity my entire life. I’m managing it now with exercise and Weight Watchers. Therefore, my observations are:
[ul]
[li]I eat too much simple carbohydrates like sweets and white breads[/li][li]I eat too much, period. American portions, especially in restaurants, are way out of control.[/li][li]I have to watch closely what I eat, and how much.[/li][li]I feel better when I eat lots of fruits and vegetables.[/li][li]Carbohydrates aren’t bad, but you don’t need tons of them.[/li][li]Pasta, rice, potatoes, or bread are all good “staple” carbs, but don’t overeat.[/li][li]Lean meat provides protein, vitamins, etc.[/li][li]Fruits and veggies provide vitamins, anti-oxidants, trace minerals[/li][li]Milk in the form of low/nonfat milk and yogurt provides a balance of nutrients and calcium.[/li][li]Exercise binds it all together into a healthy package.[/li][/ul]

3

Note that the USDA guidelines aren’t put together based solely on nutrition science - the food industry lobbies for certain things to be there in certain amounts.