Americans urged to slash sugar intake

“We know that a lifetime of healthy eating helps to prevent chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes”, the USDA said.

The US government recently released the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which had a lot of healthy additions, some deductions and limitations that health experts gave thumbs up for and some changes that are not really approved by doctors and experts.

The World Health Organization and other groups have issued similar advice, citing evidence that eating less added sugar could reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

At least half of grains consumed should be whole-grain.

While early reaction to the new dietary guidelines released by the federal government on Thursday focused on new warnings about added sugar, sodium and meat, a University of Georgia expert noted the report is largely consistent with previous versions.

It is vital to watch dietary cholesterol input, however dietary cholesterol isn’t as bad as once thought, but as foods are high in cholesterol and also high in saturated fat, it is better to watch dietary cholesterol input.

One new recommendation is that added sugar should be no more than 10 percent of daily calories. Plus, there are allegations that some food and agriculture interests had too much influence on the guidelines, jointly issued by the departments of agriculture and health and human services. “Some individuals, especially teen boys and adult men, also need to reduce overall intake of protein foods by decreasing intakes of meats, poultry, and eggs and increasing amounts of vegetables or other underconsumed food groups, ” the report said.

Saturated fats, too, should account for no more than 10 percent of a person’s daily caloric intake.

Some West Tennesseans say the sugar downgrade won’t be a hard change for them.

Longstanding limits on dietary cholesterol were also removed, a victory for the nation’s egg producers, who have long argued that cholesterol from eggs and seafood is not a major health concern.

For the first time, the government put a limit on sugar.

Sodium (salt) intake should be 2300 milligrams per day. “By focusing on small shifts in what we eat and drink, eating healthy becomes more manageable”.

“I think (people) will see this in the news, and they’ll cherry pick certain things”, she said, noting that this could mean gleaning that all coffee – no matter the additives – is good after a report about the benefits of coffee.

Dr. Sam Zakhari, Distilled Spirits Council Senior Vice President of Science and former Division Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism stated, “Moderate and responsible beverage alcohol consumption by adults can be part of a healthy lifestyle and diet choice”.