_I was in the Shepparton Base Hospital waiting area the other day and saw a very outdated food pyramid on show that showed we should eat mostly carbohydrate food. Thee examples given were of white pasta and grain plus potato.  I thought the potato was fine but 'white refined grains'?   I am a whole grain advocate and still think in the 1970's term of 'pure white and deadly' where it comes to my grain choice.

The dietary guidelines outlining what foods Australians should be eating have been updated for the first time in eight years.New draft advice from the National Health and Medical Research Council gives more detail about what kinds of food help reduce chronic diseases.

The council says the rising incidence of obesity and diabetes shows Australians need to re-assess their diets.

The draft also outlines the dietary needs of pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and babies from as young as seven months old for the first time.

Review committee chairwoman Doctor Amanda Lee says the new advice is based on a comprehensive review of the latest scientific evidence.

"What we have now is greater differentiation between different types of food; for example for the vegetable group we now know that we need to eat a variety of different types and colours to decrease our risk of various kinds of cancer," she said.