The New Dietary Guidelines: Dietitians and Nutritionist Weight In Salt and Sugar

It’s true. The foods and beverages we consume not only help to fuel our bodies, they give us the nutrients we need to function. How we eat over time can also affect our overall health and body weight. In fact, research  finds lifestyle habits dietary choices and whether or not you exercise contribute to a large percentage of cardiovascular disease. But how do you know what to eat and what to steer clear of?

There are many steps you can take to educate yourself. For example, learning how to read food labels, control portion sizes or even consulting a dietitian or nutritionist. Another important resource are the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which professionals use to help Americans make healthy choices in their daily lives to help prevent chronic disease and enjoy a healthy diet.

Every five years, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services together issue new Dietary Guidelines to keep pace with the latest nutrition research. These guidelines are intended to offer the best, most up-to-date recommendations based on the science at hand and/or in response to trends.

What do the guidelines do?

The Dietary Guidelines are primarily designed for policymakers and nutrition and health professionals to use to help promote a healthy diet for kids and adults. The chief goal is to improve health and lower the risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The recommendations give Americans a general “blueprint” for healthy eating and good nutrition. They also shape health policies and programs, as well as the types of foods included in the National School Lunch Program and other federally funded nutritional initiatives.

The 2015 guidelines recommend a “healthy eating pattern” with limited sugar and saturated fat, less salt and more vegetables and whole grains. You might remember the food pyramid poster from your grade school classroom, or the “My Plate” icon from your child’s cafeteria.

Those earnest posters are a boiled-down version of a complicated food science discussion between government-appointed experts and all the other players in this food fight, including dietitians, scientists, doctors, medical associations, the food industry and the public. The guidelines are revised every five years, and the draft version of this year’s guide came in months ago at more than 500 pages. Read More...