Harvard Food Plate Disses Milk.

Harvard University nutritionists have decided to tweak the USDA’s new “My Plate” chart in a move that is sure to piss off the dairy industry.

In June, the USDA updated the old food pyramid and put out a healthy eating pie chart called “My Plate.”  The chart depicted a relatively positive diet but almost as an afterthought, tossed a glass of milk on the side urging eaters to have a glass with every meal.  The problem is that almost any reasonable nutritionist will tell you that a serving of dairy with every meal is far too much and Harvard nutritionists agree.

The Ivy League school decided to release their own My Plate which shows a glass of water in place of the milk.  They urge eaters to drink lots of water, tea, or coffee, and avoid sugary drinks while limiting their dairy. Their defense of such a non-traditional move was this:

“High intake [of dairy] can increase the risk of prostate cancer and possibly ovarian cancer.  Plus, dairy products can be high in saturated fat as well as retinal, which at high levels can paradoxically weaken bones.”

The human body is made of about 70% water so telling people to drink more of it does seem more important than telling them to drink more milk.