The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) is comprised of a group of nutrition scientists who are widely considered the worlds’ leading authority in the areas of healthy nutrition. They’re responsible for developing healthy eating advice for Americans every 5 years. They announced the last dietary recommendations back in 2015, so they’ll be announcing the most recent, up-to-date guidelines later this year. In fact, they meet later this month on Jan 23-24th in Houston, TX, and again March 12-13th in Washington, DC. The March meeting is their fifth and final meeting before releasing their 2020 healthy eating guidelines. Both meetings are open for the public to attend.
Although I have no idea what their 2020-2025 recommendations will consist of, I’m fairly certain they won’t be anything drastically different from their 2015-2020 report, which you can download here.
For those of you who don’t feel like sifting through the 144-page report, here are the major key recommendations cited:
- According to the DGAC, a healthy eating pattern includes a variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups—dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and other
- Fruits, especially whole fruits
- Grains, at least half of which are whole grains
- Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages
- A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products, while lowering the intake of red and processed meats
- A healthy eating pattern limits saturated fats and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium
- Consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from added sugars
- Consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from saturated fats
- Consume less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day of sodium
- If alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation—up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men—and only by adults of legal drinking age.
Shocking revelations here, huh?
The DGAC goes on to say they express a strong concern for the high level of confusion about what constitutes a healthy eating pattern. The foundation for many “common diets” in terms of what foods to eat and what foods to avoid aren’t that different: poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, whole grains. Consume healthy fats, limit intake of saturated fats, processed foods, sugar, and sodium. Eat single ingredient, whole foods. "Fundamentals do NOT change every time a new study makes headlines." Don't radically shift your way of eating every time a flashy new study comes out. It takes years of cumulative evidence before scientists can make a solid nutritional recommendation about a certain food. One study is just a drop in a very big bucket.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the best and latest nutrition fad I’ve ever heard of in my life! It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread (pun intended).
The best fad diet I’ve ever heard of is this:
Forget
About
Diets
F-O-R-G-E-T A-B-O-U-T – D-I-E-T-S!! They say the third time’s the charm, FORGET ABOUT DIETS. This is the one and only Diet FAD you will ever need to learn, and the sooner you do so, the more peace, health and happiness you’ll have in your life.