I appreciate that perspective. But the fact is that if you're short on chromium to metabolize sugar, it might help to take a vitamin supplement.
I only have a short time. Can I go on to another subject?
I want to raise this question because you mentioned a very important aspect when you mentioned that part of the purpose of the guide is to ensure that Canadians, in choosing their foods, consume appropriate amounts of energy. That word “energy” is interesting, and I wanted to pick up on a submission by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff of the Bariatric Medical Institute here in Ottawa. He raises that question and quotes the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario. He talks about energy and says body weight is a relationship between energy in and energy out. The energy is, of course, measured in calories, not foods. Yet the food guide has a habit of explicitly instructing us to follow the food guide to make healthy food choices and maintain healthy weight.
To follow through on that, he says, “The proposed revision to Canada's Food Guide provides zero guidance on calories, aside from vague...,” what he characterizes as utterly useless statements like, “Try not to eat too much, or more or less.” He is saying that by failing to provide guidance on calories, Health Canada puts Canadians at dramatic disadvantage in managing their weights.
How do you respond to that criticism?