Essay on Latest Dietary Guidelines

What do the latest dietary guidelines mean to you and your food choices?

The federal government rarely urges citizens to "enjoy" anything, especially when it comes to dietary and health recommendations. So it's no wonder that the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued at the end of January 2011, made news in part for this core advice: "Enjoy your food, but eat less. "

The "eat less" guidance, of course, takes aim at the obesity epidemic that's seen two-thirds of American adults and one-third of children exceed a healthy weight. The science behind the Guidelines came from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), which included Tufts' Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, director of the John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Prevention. In its evidence-based report, the DGAC issued what Nelson refers to as a "call to action":

"The data clearly document that America is experiencing a public health crisis involving overweight and obesity. … Primary prevention of obesity, starting in pregnancy and early childhood, is the single best strategy for combating and reversing America's obesity epidemic for current and future generations. "

Besides eating less, Uncle Sam would also like to see a shift in what Americans eat: More vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood. Less sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars and refined grains. A key goal of the new Guidelines is to encourage us to eat more "nutrient-dense" food, think of it as getting more nutritional bang for your calories.

The DGAC actually took this a bit further in its research essay released last summer, explicitly urging a shift in food intake patterns "to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. " While happy with the overall Guidelines, Tufts' Nelson wishes this guidance had made the final cut. "I think 'eat more nutrient-dense food' is not quite as telling as 'shift to a more plant-based diet,'" she says. "Eating a more plant-based diet doesn't mean becoming a vegetarian. Americans simply don't eat enough vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. On the other hand, we really need to think about eating meat in moderation. You don't need meat at every meal, or even every day. "

By the Numbers

These areas of emphasis and nuances aside, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans don't represent much of a change from the 2005 version. Federal law requires the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to update the Guidelines every five years. The 112-page seventh edition of the Guidelines (41 pages longer than in 2005) includes 23 "Key Recommendations" for the general public, plus 6 additional recommendations for specific groups, such as pregnant women and people age 50 and up.

The most-scrutinized parts of the Guidelines, at least by the food industry, are the specific recommendations for what to eat more of and what to reduce. In 2005, for the first time the Guidelines called for replacing refined grains with whole grains ("make half of your grains whole"). That recommendation is credited with boosting consumption and altering manufacturers' product formulations and promotions.

This time, salt was in the spotlight, though the 2010 update didn't go as far as some expected in calling for a sodium crackdown. The DGAC had recommended an across-the-board limit of 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily for everybody, guidance recently seconded by the American Heart Association. But the final 2010 Guidelines instead set the daily sodium recommendation at less than 2,300 milligrams. That update did, however, toughen from a "suggestion" in 2005 to a full-blown recommendation that all African-Americans and people older than 51, as well as those with hypertension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease, should limit sodium to 1,500 milligrams daily. Since those groups total up to 70% of the adult population, the real difference in recommendations may be insignificant.

"Given the levels of sodium in the food supply," says Nelson, "it's a question of practicality. " Three-quarters of the sodium in the US diet, after all, comes not from the salt shaker but from processed foods. And Americans currently average about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day - so either target number remains a distant goal for most people.

Food-industry watchers also single out the 2010 Guidelines' advice that people age 50 and older, who may not be able to absorb naturally occurring vitamin B12 as readily from food, consume foods fortified with vitamin B12. (Fortified foods and supplements use a crystalline form of the vitamin that is well absorbed. ) David Katz, MD, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, comments, "It's not very difficult to anticipate the sudden spate of 'fortified with vitamin B12 as recommended in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines' messaging that will populate the fronts of boxes and bags. "

Most of the other specific daily intake recommendations were unchanged from 2005:

• Fiber: 14 grams per 1,000 calories

• Fruits and vegetables: at least 2.5 cups

• Potassium: 4,700 milligrams

• Total fat: 20% to 35% of total calories

• Saturated fat: less than 10% of total calories (the DGAC had recommended reducing to 7%).

• Trans fats: less than 1 % of calories (the DGAC called for halving that, to 0.5%)

• Cholesterol: less than 300 milligrams

• Refined grains: less than 3 ounces.

The above essay is written by Mr. Mairsh Jones, who works as a free lance writer at "Urgent Custom Essays". Don't forget to view his blog for further instructions.