The United States Dietary Association has released the highly anticipated 2015-2020 dietary guidelines, which the group updates every five years.
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Last, the same advisory committee recommended the new dietary guidelines take into account environmental considerations for the first time in suggesting what foods Americans should eat. The average person eats 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day, and the guidelines say everyone should lower that to 2,300, or about a teaspoon. The guidelines previously had advised people to consume less than 300 mg of cholesterol in their diet per day but to “eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible” while building a healthy diet.
Government officials also pointed out that numerous preventable diseases affecting a huge number of people are actually rooted in unhealthy eating habits.
Lean meat, the subject of intense industry lobbying, is recommended as part of a healthy diet in the latest guidelines, but the biggest surprise is the conclusion that teenage boys and men are generally consuming too much protein.
Instead, the guidelines avoid incriminating red meat but suggesting that Americans get their protein from “a variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), soy products, and nuts and seeds”.
Changes could also be on the way for FDA labels on the back of packaged foods.
“The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is one of many important tools that help to support a healthier next generation of Americans”, said Secretary Vilsack.
Less than 10 percent of calories per day from saturated fats.
The CDC report goes on to point out that the large majority of Americans are not going to be able to limit their calories to just 10% from sugar or fat, especially if they are going to manage to eat sufficient fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The guidelines say three to five small cups a day are healthy, as long as you don’t add the sugar, flavorings or toppings.
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“With obesity and its associated health consequences – namely type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease – on the rise throughout our country, the AMA also is extremely pleased that the new recommendations call for significantly reducing the amount of added sugars and sugar sweetened beverages from the American diet”. “Sustainability issues related to dietary choices are absent from these guidelines entirely”. The recommendations made some major changes in the way they address protein of all kinds and added sugar.
