Diet guidance in America has been co-opted by capitalistic food companies who push their processed junk our way - going on for decades now. The government is complicit of course. Let's not forget the laughable food pyramid [1] which adorned the walls of every school in the US for most of the 90s and undoubtedly created much confusion about how to eat (ie: fat bad, carbs good)
The food pyramid would be okay, if you’d actually eat the bread that the authors envisioned – full-grain rye bread, unsweetened, unbleached. That has a much higher fiber content, and much lower glycemic index.
Look at the images in the article. Notice the huge "unrefined carbs" part, and the tiny little "free sugars" part?
By the way, try to put this kind of bread in the toaster (especially if it is not fresh) and then add a little bit of butter and salt. The more sunflower seeds, the better!
Little known fact...Tomatoes are both a fruit AND a vegetable!!!
That's why the cheeseburger is a perfectly balanced food pyramid meal. You have protein from beef, dairy from cheeze product TM(contains no actual cheese), grain from the bun, AND your fruit and vegetables from the ketchup.
~ Dave Thomas (Founder of WENDY's, and fitness enthusiast)
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_pyramid_(nutrition)