One doctor says the new version of Canada’s Food Guide is taking one of several possibly healthy diets and promoting it at the expense of other options.
Dr. Andrew Samis told CTV’s Your Morning Thursday that he took issue with the new guide’s recommendation that meat, eggs and dairy should make up a smaller portion of the typical Canadian’s diet than previous versions of the guide had suggested.
“There isn’t any reason to do that,” he said.
“Canadians can eat a very healthy diet and not need to reduce the meat, eggs and dairy.”
Samis is an assistant professor of surgery at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. He is also part of the Canadian Clinicians for Therapeutic Nutrition, a group which has been pushing the government to ease up on its targeting of saturated fats and sodium.
Samis said studies show that saturated fat consumption does not increase a person’s risk of heart attack, stroke or death.
The updated version of the food guide, which was released last month, contained an “ideal plate” image suggesting a healthy diet consists of 50 per cent fruits and vegetables, 25 per cent proteins and 25 per cent grains.
Samis argued that the image contains an unhealthy amount of carbohydrates, saying he would prefer if Canadians followed a diet with more proteins and fewer grains than the one illustrated on the plate.
“Everyone is different, and Canadians need choice,” he said.
The federal government has said the updates to the food guide were based on the latest scientific evidence around health and nutrition.
