Federal Government Issues New Dietary Guidelines

This comes from too many nutrient-void, calorie-rich foods like sugary drinks, refined sugary grain products like cakes, cookies and pies and high sodium processed foods, said Rachel Johnson, PhD, RD, professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont in Burlington. However, the guidelines still emphasize limiting saturated fats to 10 percent of the daily calories, according to ABC News.

The issued guidelines to also help strengthen US Food and Health Administration’s efforts to ask beverage and food firms to label the amount of added sugars on the food packages and decrease the base amount of sodium that people should consume in order to maintain a healthy diet.

– Grains, at least half of which are whole grains.

The full list of dietary guidelines for Americans can be found online.

The guidelines also remind Americans that the most important factor to improving their health is doing regular physical activities like walking, aerobic exercises and other muscle and bone-strengthening activities. Studies have shown the average American’s sugar intake is 22 teaspoons per day, and this new limit only allows about 12 teaspoons.

On Thursday, the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced the new, highly-anticipated Dietary Guidelines (for 2015-2020).

– Any type of vegetables, especially if they’re eaten in a wide variety.

Even though a panel of experts convened by the government – called the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee – said that a healthy dietary pattern is “lower in red and processed meats” the new guidelines make no mention of “red meats”. The guidelines say three to five small cups a day are healthy, as long as you don’t add the sugar, flavorings or toppings. For the first time they limit added sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories.

“Protecting the health of the American public includes empowering them with the tools they need to make healthy choices in their daily lives”, said Sylvia Burwell, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Although the guidelines might sound like it recommends going vegan, that is simply not what it meant. Interestingly, the recommendations specifically advised teen boys and adult men to eat less protein in the form of meat, poultry, and eggs. 11 percent of the average American’s diet consists of saturated fats.

Discussion of cholesterol deeper into the document says “individuals should eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible while consuming a healthy eating pattern“. Those guidelines recommend that adults every week engage in 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, 1 hour 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise, or some combination of the two.