August 1991

PCRM develops new 'Four Food Groups'

by Cindy Rondberg, C.A.

I recently received an informative update from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). This group of well‑known doctors has spoken out and taken a stand against the mainstream. They have done extensive research in many countries around the world to back their claims and are determined to make significant changes in the health care field today.

Only a few years ago, the AMA refused to acknowledge any relationship between diet and disease. Determined to research and promote their own findings, Drs. T. Colin Campbell, Denis Burkitt, Neal D. Barnard and Oliver Alabaster persisted.

Chiropractors have always been concerned with diet and good eating habits as a major factor for prevention of disease. I believe supporting PCRM efforts would be a great step forward in bridging the gap between the chiropractic and medical professions.

Because of the importance of the information contained in it, I'm using this column to reprint the statement published in the PCRM's update:

"On April 8, 1991, PCRM unveiled a proposal to replace the Four Basic Food Groups. The Four Food Groups have been part of U.S. government recommendations since 1956, but promote dietary habits which are largely responsible for the epidemics of heart disease, cancer, stroke and other serious illnesses in this country.

"The old groups were meat, dairy, grains and fruits/vegetables. The new food groups represent a nutrition plan based on healthy, fiber‑rich plant foods rather than on the cholesterol and fat‑laden foods in the old groups. "The meat and dairy groups were the principal sources of cholesterol and saturated fat, which is the biggest culprit in raising blood cholesterol," says PCRM Nutritionist Virginia Messina, M.P.H., R.D. 'These foods are simply not necessary in the human diet.'

"Dr. Burkitt gained world renown for establishing the link between a lack of dietary fiber and many illnesses, including cancer. Dr. Campbell's ground‑breaking research showed the dramatic health statistics in China, where a lower‑fat, plant‑based diet is widespread. The Chinese have a strikingly low incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and other health problems. In his work at the Institute for Disease Prevention, Dr. Alabaster documented the need for a major change in food recommendations.

"Since food choices account for the major portion of heart disease and one‑third to one‑half of cancer, the change in basic food policy would have a dramatic impact on the health of the population. It would also have a great impact on priorities in medical research, which has largely been directed at treating consequences of lifestyle factors rather than addressing these factors themselves.

"The most critical dietary problems confronting us are the excess of fat and cholesterol, and the paucity of fiber, vitamins and minerals in the foods we tend to consume. In menus developed using the old four food groups, fat and cholesterol content could easily be very high, and it would be unusual to have a generous intake of fiber and complex carbohydrates.

"Our cholesterol intake ranges as high as 500‑600 mg per day, which carries no health benefit whatsoever, but instead incurs substantial risk.

"Our fat content hovers around 40% of our calories, easily twice what it ought to be. Our fiber intake ranges from 10‑20 grams per day, which is about half what it should be.

"Evidence has shown that most people who eat according to the old four food groups die earlier and have a greater risk of serious illness than many of those who eat differently.

"We have proposed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture a new dietary structure. The New Four Food Groups are grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits.

"The Whole Grain Group includes breads, pastas, rice, corn and all the other grains. Note the emphasis on whole grains, rather than refined grains. The Legume Group includes anything in a pod; beans, peas and lentils. The Vegetable Group and the Fruit Group are no longer a single group as in the old four food groups. The New Four Food Groups plan does not exclude all other foods from the diet. It simply prescribes the center of the diet.

"Two issues frequently arise in discussions of plant‑centered diets: protein and calcium. The somewhat lower protein content of plant‑centered diets is now known to be an asset. The quantity of protein in a varied diet centered on plant foods is more than adequate but is not excessive. Overly high protein intakes are common on meat‑centered diets and are known to increase calcium losses in the urine and to increase the work load of the kidneys. Diets which are more modest in protein are to be preferred.

"Calcium intake has been a selling point for the dairy industry. However, greens and legumes are also rich in calcium. In addition, most of the foods in the old dairy group are quite high in fat: whole milk, cream, butter, nearly all cheeses and ice cream. Most of this group is to be avoided on fat content alone, but other problems with dairy products are surfacing in the nutrition literature, relating to lactose, galactose, dairy proteins, including bovine antibodies.

"If this new diet is followed, the benefits will be profound. Heart attacks and strokes will become more rare. Colon cancer risk will diminish. Young women will have less risk of breast cancer. Diabetes will diminish.

"Unfortunately, the policy of the Department of Agriculture to date has been to avoid advocating dietary practices that are not already common. The USDA has had two competing mandates: one, to make nutritional guidelines and, two, to help commodity producers. The sort of shift we recommend would certainly have an economic impact.

"Fruit and vegetable growers will benefit, and the industries that produce animal products, oils, and fried and refined foods will be forced to change, as was the tobacco industry before them. However, as a doctor, I cannot seriously equate the health of my patients or of my family with the economic interests of the tobacco industry, the livestock industries, or the tropical oil trade. Nor can we throw up our hands and lament that people will not change long‑standing habits. They can and will change. And most importantly, they will help their children to adopt eating habits that they can live with, so that they can live free of heart disease, free of cancer, and free of stroke and many other serious illnesses."