This ’90s diet mistake is still ruining your energy levels

The 90s were full of questionable choices.

But while we’ve left most of them behind – see frosted tips, ultra-wide jeans and Beanie Babies – one food habit born in 1992 is still a pretty permanent fixture in many people’s lives.

And according to Dr. Michael Aziz, a physician and author of Ageless Revolution, it’s wreaking havoc on your energy levels.

In 1992, the US government released its first version of the food pyramid, inspired by those developed in Sweden in the 1970s. The pyramid broke down how much of our daily diet should consist of bread, fruit, vegetables, meat , dairy and fats.

She puts bread, cereals, rice and pasta at the base, recommending six to 11 servings a day. This was followed by three to five servings of vegetables, two to four servings of fruit, two to three servings of milk and cheese, and two to three servings of protein such as meat, eggs and nuts.

All the way to the top, with a warning to use sparingly, were fats, oils and sweets.

That version of the food pyramid stuck around until 2005 and Dr. Aziz said it encouraged many people to focus on low-fat diets, which are not the healthiest choice.

Among other benefits, healthy fats from things like nuts and avocados are important to keep our energy up, while too many carbs make us crash.

“What really depletes the body of energy is having a lot of sugar in the body, having a lot of refined carbohydrates. You get that sugar high and you feel energized, but then before you know it, your energy drops,” he told The Post.

“You want to have consistent sugar throughout the day. And to have stable sugar, you need to have more protein and more fat in your diet.”

Including healthy fats like nuts, seeds, olive oil and avocados in your meal plan will give you more energy, he added. This is especially true when it comes to exercise.

“Studies show that people who eat fat before exercising may have more energy to exercise in the gym,” he said. “And then after the gym, after the workout, you can eat your carbs, your banana.”

The carb-focused food pyramid was already garnering criticism at the time of its release. Part of the problem was that all fats were grouped together at a single point in the pyramid—but not all fats are created equal. While saturated fats can raise cholesterol levels and in turn lead to heart disease, this is not the case for monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats.

“The food guide pyramid that was developed in 1991 is really based on the idea that all fats are bad. THEREFORE [if] fat is bad and you have to eat something, carbohydrates are supposed to be great,” Dr Walter Willett told Frontline in 2004.

“This pyramid really isn’t consistent with good scientific evidence,” he continued.

Although the US government’s guidelines were updated in 2005, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health nutrition expert David Ludwig says they didn’t do enough to adjust public perceptions.

“Absent this remedial process, public health harms continue, with the low-fat diet remaining deeply embedded in public consciousness and food policy,” he wrote for CNN.

“The science of nutrition is complex. But we know that the low-fat diet of the last 40 years didn’t work.”

Other ways to increase energy

While balancing your diet is the surest way to keep your energy levels steady, Dr. Aziz said vitamin D can also help, especially in the winter when it gets dark earlier.

As for other supplements, different forms of vitamin B and CoQ10 can also vary. Coffee, green tea and other caffeinated drinks are also good in moderation – “as long as you don’t overdo it”.