That’s the advice from the updated US nutritional guidelines, released Thursday by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services.
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The recommendations also said Americans should limit their daily caloric intake of sugars to 10 percent, a first. According to a chart in the guidelines, 90 percent of Americans consume too much salt, and 70 percent consume too much added sugar and saturated fats, while only 10 percent eat enough vegetables. “The dietary guidelines can help shape that foundation”, said Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Overall, the new dietary guidelines focus more on healthy eating patterns, rather than on amounts of specific nutrients.
A lifetime of healthy eating helps to prevent chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes.
By law, the Dietary Guidelines serve as the basis for federal nutrition policy.
The report notes that cutting back on meat can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.
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. The report revealed the average American adult gets about 13 percent of their calories from hidden added sugar and for teenagers that number is closer to 17 percent.
Specifically, it urges Americans to eat a variety of vegetables, including dark green, red and orange, legumes and starchy vegetables. “This is the first time that the dietary guidelines have recognized that and have limited them appropriately”, UCSF Pediatric Endocrinologist Robert Lustig, M.D. said.
“USDA and HHS did not include explicit recommendations about the risks of red meat and the benefits of plant-based diets, ignoring clear scientific evidence from their own advisory committee”, said Andrew A. Rosenberg, director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
NPR reported that the guidelines emphasized a “shift towards other protein foods” – including more nuts and seeds and about 8 ounces of seafood per week, based on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. The new guidelines also include changes on sodium consumption that differ from the 2010 guidelines.
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The guidelines set the standards until 2020 for federal food purchases in programs such as school lunches, food stamps and aid to pregnant women and children.
