A Strong Jab to the Food Guide

Rosie Schwartz, registered dietitian, author and nutrition columnist for the National Post, has continued her crusade to illuminate the nation on Health Canada's whole wheat blinders.

A few weeks ago Rosie published a piece explaining how Health Canada allows grains with roughly 70% of their germ removed (remember grain germs are good) to still call themselves whole (her article here, my commentary here).

Today Rosie continues, this time taking aim at the Food Guide's weak recommendations to "Make at least half your grains whole", which when coupled with Health Canada's weak and industry pandering whole wheat labeling laws, means that even if you do try to choose whole grains more often in the hopes of reducing your risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, thanks to Health Canada, you'll likely fail.

Here are Rosie's thoughts on the matter,

"... the government is perpetuating the myth that whole wheat is a whole grain. Or perhaps the people who wrote all the supporting materials for the food guide just didn't know the facts about whole wheat. You can bet that's closer to why all this wrong information is being provided by Health Canada. It's quite ironic when you watch the government's television commercials promoting the new guide that state that you need to start "with the right information."

Unfortunately for me, my sense of irony in Health Canada's nutritional failings has long since faded away to basic expectation.

Keep slugging Rosie.

(Rosie's article is available here.)