In New Food Pyramid,
Pasta Goes Up; Oil Down

With advice that turns the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food pyramid upside down, a Harvard University scientist urged consumption of certain oils as a foundation of all healthy diets, and places pasta and white rice at the top of the pyramid, alongside candy, cake and ice cream.

"When you replace the fat in your diet with carbohydrates, your good cholesterol goes down, and you get higher levels of heart disease," said Walter Willett, Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health.

Instead, Willett said, a balanced diet should include oils, especially canola, soy and others that contain Omega 3, an essential fatty acid, as well as nuts, legumes and fruits and vegetables. Except for whole grains, he said, all carbohydrates should be eaten sparingly.

For more information on the topics addressed at the seminar, "Human Health Frontiers," see the links below:

Smallpox
Stem Cells
Addiction and Mental Illness
Microbes

—Coimbra Sirica

16 October 2002

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