If you take to the internet, you will find plenty of food pyramids claiming their superiority. Most diets including vegan, vegetarian, paleo, AIP, keto, Okinawan and Mediterranean all have some variation of a food pyramid. So which one should you follow?
The answer, of course, is the same as if we asked “which diet should you follow…” which is dependent on many factors. Your current state of health, health goals, and ethnicity all influence which diet will ultimately be the “right” one for you. So how is it that I’ve titled this article “the only food pyramid that matters?” I think the most important element of any of these diets is the reduction of processed food, and that should be our main dietary focus. People can be successful and healthy on any of the above diets, all by cutting out the “crap!”
I’m a big fan of Michael Pollan’s “eat food, not too much, mostly plants” approach. In the majority of cases, eating doesn’t need to be much more complicated than that- honestly!
If you want to be healthy the #1 thing you can do to further that goal is to eat whole, unprocessed foods. In my opinion this can include a limited amount of minimally processed meats (i.e. not bacon) and whole grains.
Wishing you the best of health,
