NMC-CREES presents new food guide

It’s out with the old and in with the new Food Guide Pyramid, which the Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research, Extension and Education Services has been actively promoting to replace the CNMI’s previous food guide.

The new Food Guide Pyramid has now updated requirements on what it takes to have healthy dietary habits in the CNMI, according to NMC-CREES Program for Family and Consumer Sciences Food Stamp Nutrition program officer Joanne Ogo.

During the Nutrition Month Fair held Saturday at the Koblerville Sports Complex, Ogo said the new MyPyramid guide has been implemented since December 2005 but it’s just this year that the program has been introduced in schools.

Ogo, together with fellow program officer Paul Manglona, have already visited several schools such as Saipan Southern High School, Kagman Elementary School, San Vicente Elementary School, Hopwood Junior High School and Seventh Day Adventist School. Both officers are conducting presentations about the new Food Guide Pyramid.

Ogo said the new guide is now more specific on what an individual in the CNMI should consume everyday.

Unlike before, when the guide would only provide information on the amount of carbohydrates and starch to consume everyday, the guide specifically outlines what people should eat, such as at least 3 ounces of whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice or pasta everyday.

“The guide is now more understandable to the readers,” Ogo said.

She said the new guide also emphasizes the need to live a healthier lifestyle.

The new USDA Food Guidance System was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, according to an earlier interview with NMC-CREES acting director and former FCS Programs and CRD program manager Margarita Diaz Tudela.

She said the new guide is now called “MyPyramid,” replacing the old guide that was developed and approved for educational presentations back in 1992.

Tudela said the USDA has had a long history with food guidance dating back into the early 20th century. Looking back over this history, many different food guides have been used. They represented health and nutrition concerns of the time when they were introduced, she said.

Tudela said that in the ’40s the wartime food guide promoted eating foods that provided the vitamins and minerals needed to prevent deficiencies; in the ’50s-’60s the seven food groups were simplified into a “Food for Fitness” guide, which was commonly called “The Basic Four.” By late ’70s, concerns about dietary excesses led the USDA to issue “The Hassle-Free Daily Food Guide,” which included a “caution” group of fats, sweets, and alcohol.

“All of these food guides preceded the introduction of the original Food Guide Pyramid in 1992,” Tudela said.

She said the new food guide has retained all the food groups from the original Pyramid, but also includes a graphic representation of physical activity that is an important additional recommendation for a healthy way of life.

Tudela added that one reason the food guidance system was revised was to ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food guidance system reflected the latest nutritional science.

The new food guide pyramid also intends to help consumers effectively put the guide into action.

“The new food guide system is made up of motivational and educational tools,” she said.

The motivational tools are the new graphic and the slogan of the food guide pyramid. The educational tools include the education framework, consumer messages, print materials, a website with detailed nutrition information, as well as interactive tools to help consumers personalize their diets.