The Vegetarian Food Pyramid: Linking a medical school to nutrition and health promotion

Abstract

The New York Medical College (NYMC) Vegetarian Pyramid, visually similar to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid, was developed by a public relations (PR) specialist and a nutritionist (RD). Foods are arranged in 6 categories: Grains & Starchy Vegetables (6–11 servings/day recommended), Vegetables (3 +), Fruit (2–4), Milk & Milk Substitutes (3–4), Meat/Fish Substitutes (2–3), and a triangle labeled Vegans Must Eat Daily at the pyramid's apex (3–5 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses and 1 tablespoon brewer's yeast). While the NYMC Vegetarian Food Pyramid was originally designed as a vegan and ovo- and/or ovo-lacto vegetarian patient education tool to help RDs and other primary care providers promote healthy eating, it serves many more functions than originally planned. As expected, RDs use it for advising people who are currently vegetarian or want to become vegetarian, but it has also proved to be a useful adjunct for counseling eating disordered patients who claim their food intake is limited because of their vegetarian beliefs. It has been incorporated into NYMC's primary care ‘selective’ for 1st year medical students, and is also a component of the self-instructional nutrition manual developed for primary care residents who train in NYMC affiliate hospitals. The Vegetarian Pyramid has been used by the college's PR office as a visual representing NYMC. Specifically, it was incorporated into the American Heart Association (AHA) regional affiliate fund-raising cookbook, and in an exhibit at an affiliate AHA presentation by Dean Ornish, MD on the < 10% fat diet he recommends for reversing cardiovascular disease. A unique quality of the Vegetarian Pyramid is its versatility in promoting NYMC while concomitantly providing a positive health message stressing nutrition, health promotion and sensitivity to individual preferences.