Our parents are naturally the first ones who are conscious of our food. Adults have also

been advising us which food we must eat, and which must be avoided. This is because aside

from physical activities, the food we consume also affects our health.

We heard how the word diet us used in different situations by people around us. Diet

takes on many meanings, such as the concept that relates to an individual’s eating discipline, or

the term used to describe the food group being taken.

We could have already encountered a person starving himself saying “I am on diet.”

People who reduce their food intake of a certain food or their total food intake voluntarily for

personal reasons must be dieting. They discipline themselves to limit their food intake to a target

level, or to avoid a food because they believe that it could benefit their personal health goals.

Another common use for the word diet is also observable in vegetarians where they

exclusively eat vegetables. It means that they do not consume animal meat and they are having-

vegetable diet instead. Some of the popular diets are fruit diet, high protein diet, low fat diet and

many more.

Since it is the government’s duty to facilitate the provision of the basic social services in

a country, they give recommendations intended to benefit the citizens and the country. One of

this is food nutritional recommendations. The food pyramid that was formulated by the Food and

Nutrition Research Institute of the Philippines is the food guide that the government has

recommended to its people.

Most of the Filipinos must have been familiar with the food pyramid even before

finishing elementary education. Illustrations of the food guide pyramid are commonly present in

clinics, canteens, classrooms, and more. According to an article from Food and Nutrition

Research institute, the pyramid was released on July 2 to 3, 1996 and it was expected to present

balanced nutrition for the general Filipinos, considering their daily activities.

Majority of Filipinos are following the food guide, aware or unaware. The FNRI made

the food pyramid where carbohydrate-foods like rice or bread have the highest proportion next is

fruits and vegetables, then animal products including meat and eggs, or nuts. Last are the foods

with high fat content such as oils, butter.

The meals that are found in common Filipino diet are food pyramid-like, from drinks to

the food that are served from their homes to some eateries, while other eateries even offer

unlimited rice deal.

Since the food guide was created in the 1990’s, its efficiency in today’s lifestyle could

have also changed. Since the 1990’s, Philippines have dramatically industrialized, the

contribution of technology-related sectors started to surpass the contributions of the laborious

sectors to the country’s economy (pubs.iied.org). The industrialization occurred most in Metro

Manila, thus the nutritional needs of the people must have also change as the time passed.

This paper will tackle the rationale behind the current food pyramid and how it can affect

our health if we still continue to follow it. The present common jobs in Metro Manila and their

daily activities will also be discussed. The paper will also discuss the nutritional values that can

be derived from different food groups, and will propose a new food guide pyramid for the

workers in Metro Manila.

The food pyramid that we use is similar to the food pyramid formulated by the United

States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The United States has been exerting so much effort to

develop a dietary recommendation to provide the Americans a good idea about which foods

should be eaten to be healthy. As reported in Healthy-Eating-Politics.com, Wilbur Olin Atwater,

an agricultural chemist, first published a dietary recommendation in a bulletin of USDA which

focused on the importance of variety, proportionality, and moderations when eating, after

studying the human metabolism on 1902. However, it was the nutritionist Caroline Hunt’s Food

for Young Children that was published as the first food guide in 1916 by the USDA. The guide

was divided in five groups of food (iml.jou.ufl.edu).

The food guide has been revised many times to aid the needs of the families during the

war. The USDA published the first Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) in the 1940,

which was changed to National Wartime Nutrition Guide in 1943, then to National Nutrition

Guide in 1946. The food guide presented seven categories of foods that were based on the RDA.

Confusion arose after different guides were released during this same time, so they modified the

food group from seven to four. They called the new guide the “Basic Four,” which also includes

food serving recommendations (Healthy-eating-politics.com).

When the cases of chronic diseases like heart disease and heart stroke became alarming,

the USDA was obliged to introduce the effect of eating the unhealthy foods. During the late

1970’s, they added another category to the Basic Four, the fifth category contains fats, sweets,

and beverages with alcohol in order for the people to minimize the consumption of these foods

(iml.jou.ufl.edu).

After the USDA scientists obtained a copy of Sweden’s Food Pyramid in 1988, they used

it as a basis for the illustration of their own food pyramid. They created the USDA Food Pyramid

in 1992 from these, and they have used it for food recommendation since then.

Fig.1. The Food Pyramid Created by the USDA

The food pyramid is divided in five levels, namely: Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group

at the base and the greatest in proportion; followed by Fruits and Vegetables Group; next is

Dairy Group, and Meat Group; at the top is the Fats, Oils, and Sugars which has lowest

proportion (Shaw et al., 3). These food groups can still be assembled according to the nutrients

that they provide.

The nutrients that we can obtain from food are Carbohydrates, Proteins, Fats, Minerals,

and Vitamins. And among these, only three can provide energy which are Carbohydrates,

Proteins, and Fats (glacierpeak.sno.wednet.edu).

Carbohydrate is an energy source which is usually found in the common food shops

everywhere and it does not cost much. Among carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, carbohydrates

can provide energy the fastest (Peyton, 18).

Carbohydrates can be classified to simple or complex depending on their chemical

structure. Simple carbohydrates consist of sugars that are either found in natural foods like fruits,

vegetables, milk, and milk products, or the sugars that are found in the food that has been

processed or refined. The Complex carbohydrates on the other hand consist of grain breads and

cereals, starchy vegetables and legumes. Various complex carbohydrates could provide good

source of fiber (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus).

An example of good source of fiber is the complex sugars that are found in vegetables,

cellulose. According to Claudio, Olivares, and Dimaano, cellulose has the same sugar content as

the starch, but unlike starch, we cannot absorb the sugar content of the cellulose because of its

unique chemical linkage. Only animals that exclusively eat herbaceous plants can digest

cellulose.

Since the Food Pyramid has the rice, bread, and pasta group at the base, the fruits and

vegetables on the second level, and the dairy products on the third level, we could say that the

carbohydrates has the highest proportion in the food pyramid.

Eating the right amount of carbohydrates is healthy since it is the only nutrient that can

provide energy to both the brain and the nerve tissues. If the carbohydrates consumed is

insufficient, the oxygen in the brain will also decrease, which can cause irreversible damage to

the brain (Claudio et al, 55). Portions of the consumed carbohydrates are also converted to

Glycogen, and it is stored in the liver. Glycogen is a special form of carbohydrates in our body

that could readily be transformed as energy when we are exercising and using our muscles in our

activities, and this is essential in heat muscle movement. But the body can only store a limited

amount of carbohydrates as immediate energy and it is only available for thirteen hours of

common activities, thus we should consider good calorie intake after water (Claudio et al, 55).

Next energy nutrient is Fat, which is most known for its energy providing property.

However, fats can also help in vitamins consumption since there are vitamins that are only

absorbable with the presence of fats. It has high satiety value which refers to the added flavor of

the food and prolonged feeling of being full. Fats can also help in maintaining body temperature,

and protecting body organs (Peyton, 23).

There are also different types of fats, the saturated and unsaturated fats. According to

Eftekhari, unsaturated fatty acids like omega-3 can give healthy benefits especially to those who

have chronic diseases. On the other hand, excess consumption of saturated fats is bad for the

health and it can even induce chronic diseases. Fats coming from vegetable oils, salmon,

mackerel, and nuts are examples of unsaturated fats, while those that are coming from foods like

red meat, butter and cheese are examples of saturated fats.

Because the Food Pyramid have the fats and oils group at the top, and the meat at the

second top level, we could say that fats have the least proportion in the Food Pyramid.

Just like carbohydrates and fats, protein also has the same chemical composition as these

two. The only difference is that, protein has nitrogen, and it can also come with other more

chemical elements. For the cells and tissues in our body to live, they must contain proteins

(Peyton, 28).

Proteins have three main functions which are building blocks of the body, maintenance of

body and energy supply. Twenty percent of an adult body is made up of proteins. Every cell has

proteins, while some enzymes and special organs are purely protein. Proteins can help in body

maintenance by aiding the chemical balance of nutrients in cells. It can also give energy, but it

must be least prioritized because the body needs the proteins in body building and body

maintenance first (Peyton, 25-28).

Proteins have two different types, the complete and incomplete proteins. It is considered

complete when the proteins derived from food contain all of the important amino acids (the basic

constituents of protein). These complete proteins are usually acquired from most of the animal

products. A protein is considered incomplete when they cannot help in body maintenance alone.

Incomplete proteins are usually acquired from plant products and it can only contribute to about

1/3 of daily protein needs. The incomplete proteins could still be improved if it is eaten with

complete protein, but both must be eaten at the same meal for optimum effects (Peyton, 29).

Because the Pyramid has vegetable and fruits group on the second level while the meat is

on the fourth, we can consider that the pyramid allots proportion for proteins than fats.

Aside from the three energy sources, vitamins and minerals can also be derived from

food. Vitamins and minerals are substances that the body needs in order to grow. Vitamins are

organic, while minerals are inorganic. We can acquire a sufficient amount of these compounds

by eating a balanced diet. Each of the vitamins and minerals are important and each of them has

specific functions that whenever they are insufficient, the body will suffer from deficiency

disease (www.cdc.gov).

One of the most known vitamins is vitamin C or ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is required in

growth and repair of cells in our bodies. It also helps in collagen production and wound healing.

Vitamin C is an antioxidant which is important to protect our bodies from damages (umm.edu)

Since the food pyramid released by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the

Philippines for the Filipinos is the same as the food pyramid provided by the USDA in their

country, it means that the two have the same nutritional values.

Fig.2. The Food Pyramid Created by FNRI of Philippines

Because the Philippines is very rich in natural resources, many of the Filipinos around the

Philippines are relying on jobs related to these natural resources. Most of these jobs are laborious

and require workers to use high amounts of energy like farming, mining, fishing, and more.

According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, around thirty-two percent (%) of the lands of

the Philippines are allotted for agriculture and farming. Industries such as mining,

manufacturing, electricity supply, water and gas supply also have high labor productivity

(Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics).

These jobs are common especially in some provinces and in rural areas, but not in Metro

Manila. Jobs that have less physical activities are more common in Metro Manila. These jobs are

mostly stationary, thus the workers of these jobs have lesser energy needs.

According to Pedrasa, a statistics made by Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics in

2011 stated that among the jobs in Metro Manila, being a call center agent is the most in demand,

followed by sales representatives, computer professionals, clerks, and being a shop salesperson

obtained the fifth from the list.

The workers of these jobs might be working in different places with different

environment, but they all share many common activities in their daily life. An employee from

these jobs would normally be seen seated or just standing in one place. In other words, all of

them would really not require extreme physical activities.

Because of the physical inactivity of these jobs, certain diseases that are fatal can be

developed, World Health Organization revealed that about sixty-one percent of the deaths in

Philippines are from Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and many more.

They pointed out the behavioral and metabolic factors such as being less physically active,

smoking and having high levels of cholesterol, glucose, and blood pressure are the causes of

acquiring the diseases.

Looking back at the food pyramid presented earlier, we can say that it provides high

energy because the ratio of the nutrients that give energy is high. If the workers from Metro

Manila followed the food pyramid, they will have excess calorie intake, which can be

transformed and stored in the body.

In order for the residents of Metro Manila work to properly while remaining healthy, they

must have a new food guide to follow that will be able respond to their nutritional needs. The

food pyramid must undergo revision to keep the workers healthy, because having these workers

follow the food pyramid would likely make them suffer from diseases.

Since chronic diseases are closely related to the excess consumption of energy foods and

the lack of activities to burn them, the new food pyramid should have a lesser proportion for

foods that supply energy. However, there are three energy-providing nutrients that are present in

the food pyramid, and each plays an important role. Thus, choosing which should be decreased

could be confusing.

Our knowledge of the right diet has changed ever since many food recommendations

have been introduced. The government has recommended people to increase the consumption of

carbohydrates, and to monitor the consumption of other energy-providing nutrients. These could

have been where high occurrence of common health problems came from. Since the 1990’s, the

prevalence of chronic diseases have increased in the Philippines just like in other developing

countries. Some chronic diseases like heart and blood-flow related illnesses have even become

the major contributors of deaths in the Philippines (www.wpro.who.int/philippines/). Therefore,

the change in diet could perhaps be one of the main reasons why the rate of chronic diseases

increased dramatically.

Following our oldest ways in eating could help our problems in nutrition. For around

twelve-thousand years ago, our ancestors have been able to survive even only as a hunter-

gatherer. Hunting-gathering is a method where the members of a population will hunt any

edible animals and plants in their surroundings, and gather them at their home for food, hygiene,

medicine and more (www.public.wsu.edu).

There are even some scientists who imply that we were able to become humans by eating

meat. In an online article, it was reported that, Charles Musiba, associate professor of

anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver has found relationship between meat eating

and our evolution in his studies (www.sciencedaily.com). According to Musiba, "Meat eating is

associated with brain development." He also stated that they are considering the relationship of

the brain development and high protein diet more due to high energy requirement of the brain

because of its large size.

He compared our evolution with other species that were able to develop a large brain to

body size ratio like chimpanzees. Unlike humans, chimpanzees consume meat in small amounts,

and are very less intelligent compared to us. “That separates us from our distant cousins,” said by

Musiba.

Even today, societies of hunting-gathering people still exist which can be found in the

different parts of the planet. These societies may have adapted to practice little agriculture, but

they still rely mainly on hunting and gathering. Kalahari hunters, Spinifex, Sentinelese, Piraha,

and the Batak, which are from the Philippines, serves as examples of societies that still exist

today. (www.huntercourse.com).

According to a study by Milton, data about different societies of modern hunter-gatherers

have found that those who are still following their habits in food consumption have little or no

case of disease of civilization like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and more, regardless of

whether their foods came largely from wild animals (Canadian Eskimos), wild plants (Kung), or

from cultivated plants (Yanomano).

Cordain, et al., tried to estimate the amount of nutrients that are found in the animals and

plants that the modern hunter-gatherer usually consumes. After their research, they were able to

conclude that half of the energy requirements of these hunter-gatherers were derived from animal

foods since only small amounts of carbohydrates can be found in plants. The results have also

implied that if we adapt the diet of hunter-gatherers, we might be able to avoid the disease of

civilization.

Since excess energy is one of the main problems, reducing the caloric intake would be

one of the most logical solutions to solve it. Just reducing all of our food consumption to reduce

our caloric intake would be unwise, since as we eat less of the food that helps in development

and healthiness of our body, we also consume fewer amounts of certain nutrients coming from

the important food.

There are other ways to reduce caloric intake aside from reducing total food

consumption. We can decrease our total caloric intake, appetite, and even body weight when we

eat foods that are high in protein (www.ajcn.nutrition.org). David Weigle and his group

experimented that, increasing the protein by around fifteen (15%) to thirty percent (30%) in the

diet can reduce the ad libitum caloric intake (calories consumed when you eat all you can) of

humans.

Several studies have also been showing that eating foods high in good fat is not bad for

the health, and in fact can help our bodies to be healthy (www.foxnews.com). Reports indicated

that initially the government has advised the public to reduce fat intake in order to prevent the

epidemic of the obesity occurrence, but even after the people have started to eat foods with less

fats, the cases of obesity did not decrease at all and has increased instead. Thus, decreasing the

fatty foods does not help in reducing the cases of obesity.

Aside from fats can help us absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K, fats, like proteins, can help

us reduce caloric intake, and help us lose weight. Because naturally occurring fats have high

satiety value, our body will feel satisfied and full for a long time that we do not have to eat as

frequently, thus the calorie intake will automatically decrease. It can also increase fat burn. Some

unsaturated fats should be avoided because they are hard to burn inside the body and can cause

heart diseases.

The energy-providing nutrient that must be reduced is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates have

many disadvantages when carbohydrates rich foods are consumed. Carbohydrates can make us

more likely to develop heart diseases than saturated fats, because carbohydrates are absorbed in

the body very fast, it causes the blood sugar level and insulin levels to increase fast too

(www.hsph.harvard.edu).

After eating carbohydrates foods, the body will break it down forming sugars. Sugars that

resulted from the breakdown of foods will then move towards the bloodstream for it to be

transported all over the cells in the body. When the body detects that the bloodstream has sugar,

it will secrete a substance called insulin that facilitates the entry of the sugar from blood towards

the cells, which will be used by the cell as energy source. The excess sugar that was consumed

will be stored in the body that will be used when energy is needed or when physically active

(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au).

The high levels of insulin in our body could be dangerous because it can induce fat

storage, and overeating, and reduce fat burn. When insulin found that there is high level of sugar

in the blood, it will signal the body that the body does not need to use its stored energy (fat)

anymore since there is already energy available in the blood stream, thus keeping the fats from

being burned (www.dietdoctor.com/lchf)

Robert Lustig, a professor of Pediatrics in University of California, stated on his video

that, having high insulin level will make us eat more food, and make us lazy. When we eat about

two thousand calories in a day, our body will want to burn two thousand calories in order to feel

good. Since insulin stores the calories that we take from food to our cells, the available calories

that our body can burn is reduced. When the available calories that can be burned are less than

the calories that we consume, our body will feel bad. When our body feels bad, we will feel lazy

and feel starved. To match the available calories for burning to the calories consumed, our body

will feel hungry and will consume more food again, but the insulin will reduce the available

calories again, thus ending in a cycle that result in overeating (www.youtube.com).

Having less activities mean more blood sugar that increases insulin. Aside from inducing

insulin, high blood sugar level can also reduce the efficiency of the vitamin C that we take.

According to Dr. John Ely, the chemical composition of vitamin C and sugars are almost alike

(www.naturalnews.com). A competition between sugar and vitamin C is made on entering the

cells when both are present in the blood stream. Sugar and vitamin C have different effects in the

white blood cells (fighting cells), high level of sugar can reduce the capability of these cells to

destroy unwanted things in the body and reduce the energy available for these cells, while

vitamin C can help in the production of the fighting cells, and increase the energy available for

them.

The new food pyramid should have protein foods and fatty foods with the highest

proportion, at the base. Vegetables should follow, especially those that are growing above

ground, since they are not used as sugar storage by plants, unlike those that are commonly found

underground (www.princeton.edu). Fruits must be reduced to level three so it will not have the

equal proportion as the vegetables like in previous pyramid. Rice, grains, breads and starchy

foods should be reduced most and must be placed at the top.

The figure bellow is an example of a revised food pyramid having each nutrient in

proportion based from recent studies in nutrition industry.

Fig.3. The Revised Food Pyramid for Metro Manila Workers.

Our diet should consist of foods that have high proportions of meat. As we increase our

intake of nutrient coming from protein and fats, we decrease our capacity to eat many

carbohydrates which would be hard to burn in an urban lifestyle. There are still fatty and meaty

foods that we should not eat, those are the man-made meat or meat coming from animals that

were raised with high-chemical-dose feeds, and fats that was refined with sugar.

Vegetables are also important in the diet. It can supply us many vitamins and minerals as

long as we consume different varieties of vegetables, especially the herbaceous ones. Not all

vegetables are equally healthy for the urban diet, since those that are growing underground like

potatoes have high carbohydrate-content.

Fruits are still important in the diet for they also supply vitamins and minerals, but they

must be reduced because they also provide high carbohydrate to our bodies, which is bad due to

the urban lifestyle.

Rice, bread, pasta and more carbohydrate rich group of foods is placed at the top. They

are one of the major reasons for the increasing rate of chronic diseases, and based on the concept

presented earlier they could be bad for the health if eaten in excess amounts.

A meal containing large proportion of rice with a viand containing meat, vegetables, and

small fat have been the usual meal of the people in Philippines. This could have been the result

of the published food pyramid by the government and the previous articles and studies about

nutrition and health.

We obtain three different nutrients from food and each has different special functions.

But because diet of normal Filipinos contains large amount of rice, carbohydrates must be the

nutrient that largely supplies the energy in our body.

Since Metro Manila is the most urbanized region in the country, the activities of its

citizens are different from the activities of the citizens from provinces all around the country.

Metro Manila workers require far less energy from rural places workers because of the physical

inactivity of the jobs in Metro Manila.

Just like the other urban places, Philippines is also having problems with chronic diseases

like diabetes, obesity, heart diseases, and cancer. Studies have found that being physically

inactive and having excess energy is one of the main causes of these illness.

Since the usual diet of Filipinos contains high carbohydrates, we are somewhat following

the food recommendation of the pyramid. Following the food pyramid by the government should

have decreased the rate of such diseases since the food guide was supposed to be healthy.

However, prevalence of such diseases even increased. Therefore, there must be something wrong

in our diet and in the food recommendation.

For several years, humans have originally been eating high meat and low carbohydrates

by hunting and gathering foods. As globalization ushered in, we have been advised that eating

more carbohydrates and eating less fats and proteins is the best diet for out health. When people

have started to decrease their meat consumption, the satiety value of their meals has also

decreased, meaning the food became less tasty or palatable. When the foods that make the meal

tasty were decreased, the food processors and suppliers add extra sugars to some of their

products so it would become palatable and will be more marketable, making us consume

unwanted sugars.

Recent studies found that sugars present in our blood will make us produce insulin to

balance our body. As we produce insulin, we restrict our body from burning fat, encourage our

body to eat more, make us less physically active, and store fats. This has been the cause of the

diseases present in cities because of the common diet.

A healthy diet must be composed of the foods that were originally consumed before like

natural meats and vegetables, because as we increase our natural meat, oils and vegetable intake,

our body will have less space for carbohydrates and unwanted sugars. Studies revealed that

eating high meat cannot harm us as long as it is natural, and others have even found that meat

consumption of our ancestors have made us the most intelligent species.

Since the traditionally used food pyramid supplies energy that is for fast digestion and

intense activities, it could be good for highly physical workers, but not for the workers in Metro

Manila where people usually lack physical activities due to the nature of their jobs. Therefore, it

is imperative to provide food guide that could keep them from having excess energy while still

giving enough vitamins and minerals. This way, they may be able to achieve balanced nutrition

and healthy life.