Finally in Belgium we have a new food pyramid that has not been lobbied by the food industry!
The pyramid is a proposal from the Vlaamse Institut voor Gezond leven (the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living) and you can guarantee that the food lobbyists will be out in force to ensure that it does not get accepted as the official pyramid for the whole country.
Why is it so different?
- it was put together by a group of health experts and not the usual representatives from key food sectors (dairy, meat, baked goods)
- it favours plant based foods over meat, fish and dairy
- it pushes sugar, hams, fast food, alcohol and sodas into the category of 'as little as possible' (which of course very little or nothing IS possible!) rather than keeping it in the main food pyramid
- it no longer categorizes oils and nuts and healthy fats in the same bracket as sugar
- it promotes drinking of water above all other drinks
- it has alongside it a movement pyramid with movements for all ages and abilities...
Whether or not this becomes the official pyramid of Belgium (which would mean that proportions would be reflected in school meals, hospitals etc.) you can order leaflets and posters from the institute and circulate them around schools and in your work place.
This is certainly the best one I have seen to date...