Harvard Recommends Olive Oil in New Healthy Eating Guide

By Elena Paravantes

Sep. 15, 2011 12:26 UTC

Summary

The Harvard School of Public Health has introduced the Healthy Eating Plate as a visual guide for healthy eating, addressing deficiencies in the USDA’s MyPlate guide, such as the lack of information on beneficial fats. The Healthy Eating Plate recommends using healthy oils like olive oil and canola, while emphasizing the importance of distinguishing between good and bad fats in a balanced diet.

Nutrition experts at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in conjunction with colleagues at Harvard Health Publications have unveiled the Healthy Eating Plate, a visual guide that provides a blueprint for eating a healthy meal.

According to a press release from the school, this new visual nutrition guide addresses important deficiencies in the MyPlate icon, the visual guide released by the USDA this summer.

One of the shortcomings of the MyPlate according to Harvard researchers, is that it is silent on beneficial fats. In other words, it does not distinguish between good and bad fats.

The Healthy Eating Plate on the other hand depicts a bottle of healthy oil, and encourages consumers to use olive oil, canola, and other plant oils in cooking, on salads, and at the table.

The Harvard guide also recommends limiting butter and avoiding trans fats. This is an important distinction as many consumers tend to group all fats in one category, and are not aware that some fats, such as olive oil, are actually good for you.

Harvard Recommends Olive Oil in New Healthy Eating Guide

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