The food pyramid of the olden days really spoke to me as a kid. At the bottom were "cereals and grains," meaning eat a LOT of those, and at the top were fats and oils, which were to be used sparingly, but were "meh" to me, anyways, so that wasn't a big deal.
What was a big deal to me was the fact that the federal government was giving me permission to eat all the "cereals" I wanted, and, to the younger me, that meant as many bowls of Life, Cap'n Crunch, Cookie Crisp, Froot Loops, and Honeycomb cereals I could fit into my life. And I could fit in a fair few because the food pyramid said so (and the cereals were "fortified" with vitamins and minerals, so it was basically health food). Grains, too, were big in my diet back then, mostly appearing in the form of PB&J sandwiches or a vast array of Hostess delights.
That dang pyramid was everywhere back in the 70s and 80s. It showed up in commercials played during Saturday morning cartoons, alongside endless ads for "cereals." It was covered during health class at school – eat more grains, kiddos. And it was hanging on the walls at the pediatrician's office when we were dragged in for our inoculations.
Who ever made the 1970s food pyramid should be investigated for sure.
— ( Parody ) John Denver ✌️ (@JohnDParody) January 7, 2026
Old—————————New 2025 pic.twitter.com/tzGfnpdTE2
Now, I wasn't exactly a small child. My mom says we're from Irish "peasant stock" and are built sturdy, and I was the size of an adult by age ten. When I showed up at the higher percentiles on the growth charts, the pediatrician was concerned I was eating too many fats and oils and not enough cereals and grains. He needn't have worried.
It was all fine and good back then, though, because we were running around outside all day and night. We ate unbalanced diets and hardly ever drank water, but we were healthy and happy enough. Not to slight anyone with food allergies, but our immune systems were strong back then, even if the food pyramid was trying to kill us off.
RELATED: MAHA Introduces the New Food Pyramid and Explains How It Will Revolutionize Americans' Health
Just How Dehydrated Were We in the 70s and 80s?
Then we hit adulthood – the late 80s/early 90s for me – and the birth of the "low-fat/no-fat" movement came at us fast. I don't recall the pyramid changing, but we were now told to avoid fat at all costs. Regular saltines were replaced with the fat-free version. I ate bagels all day long because ... fat free! Remember SnackWell's Devil's Food Cake Cookies? You could eat the whole pack because there was no fat!
Also, can we talk about margarine for a minute? My family was all-in on Parkay until I Can't Believe It's Not Butter came along. I didn't eat butter until I took a trip to Paris and it was on absolutely everything. And, horrors, no skim milk to be found; I had to put whole milk on my, you guessed it, cereal. Then, along came my German husband and butter became a staple in our house.
As we learned Wednesday, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has come for the old food pyramid and literally turned it upside down. RedState's Jennifer Oliver O'Connell had the scoop on the changes:
USDA Secretary [Brooke] Rollins said:
Thanks to the bold leadership of President Trump, this edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans will reset federal nutrition policy, putting our families and children first as we move towards a healthier nation. At long last, we are realigning our food system to support American farmers, ranchers, and companies that grow and produce real food. Farmers and ranchers are at the forefront of the solution, and that means more protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains on American dinner tables.
EAT REAL FOOD https://t.co/H6AFcSGGsz pic.twitter.com/7E9Xz2vkd0
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 7, 2026
The old food pyramid that made me pudgy and on a collision course with diabetes has soured me on the government recommending any particular diet to Americans, but the new focus on real food and using food as medicine is a welcome change. My four Gen-Z kids are hyper-aware of things like artificial colors and "natural" flavorings, so at least they survived being raised by a carbo-loving, Gen-X mom.
And since we're on the topic of Generation X, I'm thinking of bringing back "The Gen-X Files" as a twice-monthly column here at RedState. We've got the 40th anniversary of the Challenger explosion coming up and that was a seminal moment for us Xers, so I may start there.
