Irish equivalent of the Eatwell Plate

Hi folks,

I've read some things on this forum relating to the Eatwell Plate, something I'd never heard of until a few days ago. Something about it being rigged by Big Wheetabix in order to kill off all the diabetics or.. I couldn't follow it all to be honest. I'd need to Do My Own Research on that one, and I'm not very good at that.

I have attached the Irish equivalent, scanned directly from a booklet I received from Diabetes Ireland titled 'Healthy Eating for People with Type 2 Diabetes'. Diabetes Ireland is a charity but is blatantly in the pocket of the drug companies, which you can tell by all the corporate logos on their website. Big pharma is very big indeed in Ireland.

The Irish food pyramid attached was produced by the Irish government, the Department of Health, not the HSE which is the tiny equivalent of the NHS in the UK. For the lowdown on the shady interests of the Irish government in all matters health related you need look no further than the following website. Taken together with the food pyramid they produced it's very illuminating.


Now I don't know much about this world and what goes on in it as I'm not someone who Does His Own Research. I just read things and leave the research to the experts, but I do know that there's something very fishy going on here. Someone is in cahoots with someone, somewhere, that much is clear. Perhaps the more learned members of the forum could dig into it a little deeper for me and report back? My health is at stake, literally, as is the health of everyone who reads this forum. This is very, very serious business.

LittleGreyCat said:

Where is the grass fed Irish butter in all that?

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Well, apparently, the Irish government tells everyone they shouldn't eat much butter, for health reasons, while at the same time butter is one if Ireland's largest exports.

I suspect some kind of clever reverse psychology is at work, no doubt formulated by an evil genius in a bunker deep under Dublin Castle.

In Response said:

I know some people are not fans of Diabetes UK but one thing I really like is the statement they have at the top of every page of their Forum:
"Everyone manages their health differently. Please be mindful of this."

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I'm a fan. I'm here because the people on this forum are, collectively, experts in the use of a restricted diet to control diabetes. No question about that. It's a fantastic resource, and I'm here to learn.

That said there's a lot of dodgy information on here stated as fact. The forum rules state that nobody is allowed to offer medical advice, but diet advice is freely given and there are all sorts. Diet advice is effectively medical advice in my opinion, when diabetes is the subject. I believe some of what's on here is likely harmful to recently diagnosed persons who come here looking for help, particularly the notion that specialist diabetes doctors don't know what they're talking about when it comes to diabetes control, or that general NHS diet advice is invalid or somehow compromised by industry interests. It's the same diet advice provided throughout the western world, and it can't all be under the thumb of UK Big Carb. It's a laughable notion that undermines confidence in evidence-based medical practice as implemented by actual experts who have engaged in intense life-long learning - doctors.

MrsA2 said:

@HairySmurf
Diabetes UK is a very different entity to this forum which is Diabetes.co.uk.
Check out Diabetes UK python coem back with your findings please

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Got it, I misunderstood the context of that post. Thank you for the correction.

KennyA said:

The "food pyramid" which the Irish Government appears to be using has been around since at least the 1970s. As was common in that peiod, it was at the beginning intended to reduce rates of heart disease. It conflicted with the then traditional advice (for weight loss) of reducing starches and sugars (ie, carbohydrates) in the diet but because it promised "health" (or at least disease reduction) benefits at minimal cost it was enthusiastically adopted and promoted by governments.

Attached article is good on the history and evolution of the "Pyramid" to the "Plate".

Food pyramid | Origins, History, Variations, Debates, & Facts | Britannica

A food pyramid is a visual representation of the optimal number of servings of food to be eaten daily from each basic food group. The food pyramid first evolved in Sweden in the 1970s and was adapted in the United States by the USDA in 1992. The USDA revised it in 2005, resulting in MyPyramid...

www.britannica.com

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Understood. I should mention that I look on the food pyramid model as being overly simplistic and quite dubious in the context of a diabetes diagnosis. It was that thinking that led me here in the first place. I will say that the serving sizes for carbs on the Irish pyramid are much lower than most people consume. It irked me that they recommend 200ml disposable cups as measuring tool for carbs, including cooked pasta. 'Do they mean a cup of spaghetti or a cup of those spiral thingies?' I wondered. 'What about the air space between the bits of pasta?'. I get it, the average person is not going to start weighing their pasta, but a recently diagnosed diabetic is not the average person. They could do much better.

That said, I don't suspect any ulterior motives behind the UK or Irish models beyond trying to keep as many people healthy as possible.

LittleGreyCat said:

It may come as a shock but not all GPs are experts on Diabetes.

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I absolutely agree with that, and I believe that a low carb diet is likely highly beneficial for diabetes treatment, in isolation.

I'm very much on the fence when it comes to the high fat part of it though. It will take a considerable time spent learning before I commit to LCHF.

LittleGreyCat said:

Dr David Unwin however is.
I understand he may be a member of this Forum although I couldn't immediately find a User ID.
He is very clear on the benefits of Low Carbohydrate eating.

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I tried to watch the video on that page but I'm getting 'Because of its privacy settings, this video cannot be played here.'

Is the video restricted to members only or is it restriction by region or anything like that?

lovinglife said:

I’ve just tried it and it worked fine for me, I’m not very techy minded so this might not be it but could you have something in your settings that are blocking it?

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I just tried it using Firefox and it loaded okay. Perhaps I have some setting in Chrome blocking it. Many thanks