Harvard's is a VAST improvement! The way the "my plate" version implied dairy at every meal is a dietary anachronism, one my elderly parents still adhere to (I get a milk glass set out for me at each and every meal at their house...and I'm lactose intolerant!) Though, I think Harvard should have made a different graphic for the oil: perhaps in a tablespoon rather than a bottle the size of the water glass.

I agree that the dual function of the USDA is ridiculous (how can you promote and represent ag. groups AND nutrition without biases) but to ignore dairy visually only serves to make more average Americans think that educated elites are all weird Vegans who don't eat like they do. Even if it's true, the way the message is conveyed is nearly as important as the actual message.

I still like the "eat the rainbow" thing I heard a year or so ago. Just make sure you've covered the rainbow by the end of the day and you'll have eaten a good variety of fruits, veggies, and proteins. Food dyes don't count. I wouldn't say I'm the healthiest person in the world, but all my levels check out at my yearly.

I try to get three servings of dairy a day, not necessarily through milk, but with yogurt, cheese and skim milk because I am terrified of not getting enough calcium.

Have I just been brainwashed by the dairy industry? If I ignore this am I going to get osteoporosis?

I know that other foods have some calcium, but my dairy just gives me a sense of security that I have gotten all I need. Eating should not be this hard.

"Avoid bacon"??? I would have preferred the use of the word "moderate" with reference to bacon and cold cuts. And since when does a potato not count as a vegetable? Yes, this is a big improvement but still not the best. I prefer to eat the rainbow, as another commenter mentioned. Then again, if you are reading this blog, I don't think you have to worry about getting a varied, healthy diet.

This is much better, but I still have a few minor quibbles:
- While it's good to emphasize whole grains, and I'm sure they're going for familiarity for the masses, whole wheat bread and pasta are still very processed options. I would have loved to see real whole grains mentioned like quinoa, wheat berries, amaranth, etc.
- I think they should have added some caveats for fruits like they did in other categories, perhaps advising to limit fruits like grapes and bananas that are especially high in sugar.
- That plate needs a recommended diameter!

But I love "potatoes and french fries don't count"!

Why don't potatoes count? They are a nutritious vegetable! OK, french fries and potato chips--that's junk food, yes. But a baked potato? And are you including sweet potatoes? Down with all you Harvard potato-haters!

White potatoes are pretty much just starch/carbs... no real vitamin values there http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2770/2 I think the point isn't that potatoes are evil but that you can't eat 5 servings of potatoes and get the benefits you'd get from eating carrots and spinach and squash.

It doesn't say to avoid potatoes, it says that they don't count toward your dietary goals like (or as a substitute for) other vegetables. If you have a cheeseburger with a side of fries, you shouldn't count the fries as your vegetable serving.

The Harvard group responsible for the plate recently published a study that found that potatoes (even baked) contributed most to weight gain. They view potatoes as a starch, rather than a vegetable. To read the actual article: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1014296

Or read more here: http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gaining-weight-beware-potatoes%e2%80%94baked-fried-or-in-chips-201106242943

I think it should say instead that corn doesn't count as a veggie. it's a grain. a super sugary one at that.

I never followed the USDA's silly pyramid and this isn't all that much better. Like someone else said, they shouldn't be in the business of telling people what to eat while still giving out subsidies and generally taking sides with big ag in every discussion.

But anyone who thinks we should be eating that much grains/breads is seriously deluded! It shouldn't be the bottom of the pyramid, and shouldn't be 1/4 of your plate. That is all SUGAR in your body. No reason to have grains at every meal (whole or not), and lots of reasons not to.

Potatoes don't count? They absolutely do! They're are vegetables. They do offer nutrients. It's the means of preparation that may make them unhealthy. Not the vegetable itself!

That's like saying "broccoli doesn't count" just because some people will only eat it if it's drowned in cheese sauce.

*sigh* "they're vegetables" not "they're are"

Avoid bacon?????? That's just not happening.

@avocado, I really wouldn't worry about what the pyramid or this new food plate says about dairy. The fact that a person's body has a hard time absorbing calcium is a good reason to keep consuming dairy products. (plus the calcium absorbed will keep osteoporosis at bay, and no, that's not dairy industry propaganda)

Carrots and beets also have lots of sugar, just to put that out there. ;)

Personally, I like the portion of grains on that plate (but eating carbs makes me happy). Whether people like it or not, we need carbs (and not small amounts). And we need the sugars from them. Unless you really want to risk becoming hypoglycemic.

What exactly do grains contribute to a healthy diet, whole or not? They don't have any more vitamins or minerals than vegetables or meats, the nutrients they do have are less bioavailable thanks to lectins and phytates, and the glycemic index of grains, including whole grains, is generally worse than candy and table sugar. Add to this the fact that subsidized grain and corn production - you know the one that fuels the factory-farm meat industry, as well - have killed most of the American topsoil... we certainly don't need to be getting 1/4 of our calories from it.

Meat, veggies, good oil, real fruit. Occasionally some rice, cheese, or real yogurt.

@avocado: Yes, you HAVE been brainwashed by the dairy industry. There are entire countries that consume little or no dairy, yet they don't have epidemics of broken hips. The WHO calcium recommendation is less than half of the US guideline. Read Dr. Willett's commentaries on calcium and Vitamin D recommendations.

I think the Harvard plate is a great improvement from the USDA's. Mentioning quinoa and other lesser known grains (with reference to the general US population) I feel is unnecessary since most consumers who are already aware of grains like these don't need to be referencing the food guide in the first place.

And I think it's overkill to mention various vegetables as being high in sugar. All vegetables and fruits have sugar, but they're less harmful because they're surrounded in so much fiber that it inhibits the absorption of some of that sugar.

Bravo Harvard, I think this plate is much more informative and just as easily understood by consumers.

The discussion here shows exactly why it's difficult for any one group to provide a summary of healthy eating. One person says sugary fruits are bad, while another would say that they're fine if eaten in whole form (as opposed to juice) and varied in color. One person says potatoes are nutritionally worthless, while another would say they're fine as long as they aren't all your veggies. Some people believe grains are evil; some believe meat is the root problem of all our woes.

I like the rule of fruits and veggies being half your plate (with "plate" being a normal sized plate, not a banquet plate), foods being generally varied (not 100% french fries for your veggies), and foods being minimally processed and seasonally appropriate.

Joanne0012 - Yes, it is true that lots of cultures don't eat dairy. But even more cultures DO eat dairy, and lots of it, and historically there are cultures that have existed on mostly dairy calories. If your body can digest it, and you go low-fat some of the the time, there's no reason to avoid it.

Plus, dairy products are yummy. I like the USDA version better anyway - simplicity is the goal here anyway.

Much better, but potatoes DO count! Maybe not fried potatoes, but still...

It is better, certainly. I would have like a small oil container, whole grains mentioned, and cheese as a protein option. I also think that moderate is a better choice than "avoid"

What about yogurt? Plain yogurt has all sorts of nutritional benefits, due to all the live active cultures. I can't see how low- or non-fat yogurt could be a bad thing...

The Harvard plate doesn't even mention eggs as a protein option, and lumps all dairy in as a beverage (although apparently the FDA does that too). Dairy can be protein, not just a beverage. Otherwise, the fruits/veggies/grains/protein servings look pretty reasonable. I wonder if anyone is actually using this as a guide though.

Dairy is not necessary for calcium (Kale has more absorbable calcium than milk) and as calcium is killed in pasteurization and has to be added back to milk any non-dailry milk is just as good a calcium source as cow milk. How strange is it that people drink breast milk from another species anyway? The way people eat today is a cultural thing not a health thing...we've gotten so far away from healthy eating we don't even know what health is. I think plants are always superior to animal flesh anyway. After all the nutrients in the animals we eat come from plants too so why not just go right to the source?

@avocado what other animal needs to breast feed in adulthood?

It is surely a little odd that we believe breast feeding from another species is normal or natural?

Now I am not lecturing, I am conflicted on the dairy issue - I am just putting the above out there to see how others view it!

Dairy is not the same as calcium and, you can get calcium from other things the same as you dont need to eat steak to get protein.

I would be fascinated to read any studies that have been published on the dairy industry promotion and our consumption of dairy - do you think its gone up or down over the decades (consumption not funding - the later I assume has increased)

I am trying to work this all out for myself at the moment, really interested to hear what others are saying about it.

@if1hadwords corn is full or sugar and bad for you??? please tell me this is not true?! We are talking about the same corn right - those little yellow balls of loveliness??

@bgirl: The benefits of going to the source are that the other animal has already done digestive work for you with a digestive system that is umpteen times better than ours at breaking down plant matter. Just look at colon lengths between omnivores/carnivores and herbivores... It is also the case that animal meat tends to have in it exactly what our "meat" needs in a much more bio-available form than plants. A perfect example of this is liver function. Human livers need a significant amount of dietary cholesterol and vitamin A to function properly, both of which are found in abundance in animal liver.

That said, I am absolutely not an advocate of replacing veggies with meat either. Veggies are incredibly important to any healthy diet and should be eaten with reckless abandon! Just don't cut the steak short...

@BKAT_9: Watch "King Corn". Corn has been genetically modified so much that it is now only 98% STARCH and 2% PROTEIN. Basically, it's like potatoes. Not much of anything other than your basic filler. (It is delicious though...)

And thanks Harvard for having the GUTS to stand up to that bully, USDA.

How does pasteurization kill calcium? I thought it was a mineral.

I'm a little ambivalent on the dairy thing. My baby is close to weaning (from the boob) and she has lately turned against cow dairy - yogurt and what have you - and I'm disinclined to push it on her, because that's sort of the definition of weaning, as others are pointing out. Yet I'm concerned about her bones and teeth and pushing the kale agenda seems even tougher. She already gets a daily dose of greens.

Does anybody really follow these plates anyway? Whether or not you think they were well founded, the four squares plate was fairly simple to remember (at least it was symmetrical), and the pyramid gave a memorable, general sense of proportions, but this seems overly complex. Six different elements, not all on the plate, caveats and exceptions in the fine print, who needs it? I think campaigns like five a day or whatever are snappier and more practical when you're in the grocery store. (My personal guideline is the "nine a day / eat the rainbow" suggestion - I don't always make it, but the attempt definitely guides my buying and eating and works out to so much attention on counting fruits and veggies that after adding in a protein source there isn't much room left for too much junk.