{"id":533,"date":"2015-03-15T17:56:11","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T17:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/15\/2015-dietary-guidelines-will-it-crumble-under\/"},"modified":"2016-01-30T05:37:47","modified_gmt":"2016-01-30T05:37:47","slug":"2015-dietary-guidelines-will-it-crumble-under","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/15\/2015-dietary-guidelines-will-it-crumble-under\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-533 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/2015\/03\/15\/2015-dietary-guidelines-will-it-crumble-under\/attachment\/534\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tumblr_nl9ltnvivI1tunfp4o1_1280-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tumblr_nl9ltnvivI1tunfp4o1_1280-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tumblr_nl9ltnvivI1tunfp4o1_1280-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>2015 Dietary Guidelines; will it crumble under infrastructure pressure?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;<\/p>\n<p><b>curator: <\/b>\u00a0Some may find many of the \u201815 guidelines a bit comical (of course eggs and less sugar are good for you), others are concerned that these latest recommendations perpetuate the falsehood that all food is treated\/created equal and sourcing matters less than food group or category (i.e grass-fed meat). \u00a0<i>When I say some people, and others &#8211; I of course am included in those buckets&hellip; <\/i>But, these are steps in the right direction and positive discussions to begin change that will eventually be defined by consumer awareness.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>6 Highlights of the 2015 guidelines:<\/h2>\n<p>1. <b>You can eat eggs.<\/b> And shrimp. &#8211; <i>fast curator fact &#8211; the closer you are to the origin of life (i.e. eggs, sprouted grains, proteins) the healthier the outcome for higher trophic levels.<\/i> \u00a0For years, we\u2019ve been told to be mindful of\u2014and limit\u2014how much cholesterol we get from our food. That meant items like eggs and shrimp felt taboo. The logic went like this: dietary cholesterol would raise blood cholesterol. Turns out there isn\u2019t enough science to support that line of thinking.<\/p>\n<p>2.<b> Steer clear of too much sugar.<\/b> This might not be news to you. And, in fact, we\u2019ve written about the harms of eating too much added sugar here andhere. So it\u2019s just awesome that our national diet advice is following suit and warning all Americans to limit their added sugar intake.<\/p>\n<p>3. <b>Cut out refined carbs. <\/b>Also known as white carbs. This too might not be groundbreaking to you. The health benefits of whole grains are well documented. So let\u2019s give the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) a pat on the back for identifying refined grains as \u201cdetrimental\u201d to our health.<\/p>\n<p>4. <b>One diet doesn\u2019t fit all.<\/b> This is my favorite takeaway. To lower your risk of heart disease and of becoming overweight or obese, the draft guidelines don\u2019t point us to one narrow diet or a combination of single nutrients. Instead they encourage a general healthy diet pattern. How you achieve this diet is up to you!<\/p>\n<p>5. <b>Consider the environmental impact of foods.<\/b> Critics have attacked the DGAC\u2019s move on this one, saying they are nutrition experts, not environmental experts. And while that criticism is fair, you cannot separate the topics of what to eat for your health and what to eat for the health of the planet. They need to be considered in conjunction. It\u2019s refreshing to see the advisory committee take this on and encourage Americans to eat more plant-based foods as well as provide guidance on seafood choices, among other suggestions.<\/p>\n<p>6. <b>Pump up the produce! <\/b>That\u2019s right, we still need to eat more fruits and vegetables. And the draft Dietary Guidelines are really hitting that message hard. But here\u2019s the good news: adding more produce to your diet makes it pretty likely that you\u2019ll be getting key nutrients\u2014like vitamins A and C, folate, magnesium, fiber and potassium\u2014that the guidelines say most Americans fall short on.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/33.media.tumblr.com\/f6d93ffcb30bc74fc7f42fd30d9ae9da\/tumblr_inline_nl9lnvCJYV1sae1js.jpg\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.foodsafetynews.com\/2015\/02\/food-safety-to-play-important-part-in-2015-dietary-guidelines\/#.VQWfBYHF8Yc\">more&hellip; \u00a0<\/a> What should we eat to be healthy? That\u2019s an important question, because, according to the recently releasedScientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, <b>what we eat has a lot to do with how healthy we are. It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>But on a national level, it becomes more challenging, especially when considering what the report refers to as the \u201ctwo fundamental realities\u201d that need to be kept in mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>The first is that about half of all American adults \u2014\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><b>117 million individuals \u2014 have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, and that about two-thirds of U.S. adults \u2014 nearly 155 million individuals \u2014 are overweight or obese.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>No question about it, those are daunting numbers. \u00a0The report points out that these unhealthy conditions have been \u201chighly prevalent\u201d for more than 20 years. Also, according to the report, eating unhealthy foods and consuming too many calories, coupled with too little physical activity, directly contributes to these preventable health problems.<\/p>\n<h2>The second \u201cfundamental reality\u201d is people can improve their health\u00a0\u2014<\/h2>\n<p><b>By making changes in their lives, among them eating healthier foods and getting more physical exercise.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In other words, for the most part, we, the consumers, are in the driver\u2019s seat, and the dietary guidelines are there to serve as a road map. It\u2019s all about helping to prevent a culinary crash that could ruin our health \u00a0\u2014 or kill us.<\/p>\n<p>And, yes, food safety is part of this, especially when considering the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which, like the report, takes a preventive approach to safeguarding people\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<p>As for the role consumers play in food safety, a section of the report states that individual behaviors, along with sound government policies and responsible private-sector practices, are needed to reduce foodborne illnesses.<\/p>\n<p><i><b>A quick background<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was jointly established by the secretaries of the US. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The committee was asked to examine the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, to see if there is new scientific evidence that can be used in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The primary focus of these ongoing reports is to develop food-based recommendations for Americans 2 years old and older. Instead of being mere \u201cdust collectors\u201d to be put on a shelf and forgotten, the reports are used to help develop federal nutrition policy and a variety of programs, among them education, outreach, and food-assistance programs throughout the nation, including food stamps.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><b><i>What we already know, or at least believe<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>For the most part, the evidence the committee examined reveals what many people already know, or at least believe to be true: A healthy diet is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, poultry, legumes and nuts; lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains (such as those used in cookies, snack crackers, cakes, and most breads).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>But the report also shows \u201cmoderate to strong evidence\u201d that higher intake of red and processed meats was identified as detrimental compared to lower intake, as is the case for higher consumption of sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, as well as refined grains.\u00a0That\u2019s where some of the nation\u2019s favorite foods \u2014 burgers, pizza, tacos, sandwiches, mixed dishes, desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages, all of which are mentioned in the report \u2014 come into the picture.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The report suggests that the composition of many of these food items could be improved in ways to increase consumption of vegetables, whole grains and other under-consumed food groups as well as to lower intake of sodium, saturated fat, added sugar, and refined grains.\u00a0The report also noted that no matter where people are buying their food \u2014 whether in supermarkets, convenience stores, schools, or at the workplace \u2014 overall, the needs of a healthy diet for the U.S. population do not meet recommendations for vegetables, fruit, dairy or whole grains and exceed recommended amounts of sodium, saturated fat, refined grains, solid fats and added sugars.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Reading between the lines: The typical American diet is fraught with health risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2015 Dietary Guidelines; will it crumble under infrastructure pressure? \u00a0&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211; curator: \u00a0Some may find many of the \u201815 guidelines a bit comical (of course eggs and less sugar are good for you), others are concerned that these latest recommendations perpetuate the falsehood that all food is treated\/created equal and sourcing matters less [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2015-dietary-guidelines","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":535,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions\/535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aaronniederhelman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}