The Five Key Take-Aways from the Guidelines:

1. Follow a healthy eating pattern across the lifespan
2. Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount
3. Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake
4. Shift to healthier food and beverage choices
5. Support healthy eating patterns for all

That may sound easy enough, but who came up with these guidelines and how can you use these recommendations to guide your health?

What are the Dietary Guidelines?

Sarah Downs: “The federal government has been publishing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA’s) every five years since 1980. With a goal of providing recommendations about components of a healthy and nutritionally-sound diet to help promote health and prevent chronic disease, each edition of the guidelines reflects the body of nutrition science. The Guidelines provide evidence-based food and beverage recommendations for Americans ages 2 and older.”

Who develops the guidelines?

Sarah Downs: “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) develop the guidelines. Revisions to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines were created and updated by using information from the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (essentially a draft of of the guidelines) with additional consideration from Federal agency input and public comments.”

How are they used?

Sarah Downs: “They are the cornerstone of nutrition guidance and are crucial in shaping programs and federal policies related to food, nutrition and health. This includes Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch Program and the Older Americans Act Nutrition Programs, to name a few. They’re also used by various industries and organizations when developing their food and beverage products.

The 2015 DGA’s are intended to be used for disease prevention and focus on overall health rather than treatment of disease. However, it is important to note that regardless of one’s health status, the guidelines can benefit nearly all people in the U.S. if used to support healthy eating patterns.”

What’s different?

Sarah Downs: “Many pieces of the guidelines remain unchanged from 2010 including a focus on increasing the consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and decreasing salt intake. However, there are a few updates to note.

1. On signification change in the 2015 guidelines is the recommendation to limit sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories. Currently, many Americans consume up to 22 teaspoons per day, which is nearly double the 10 percent that is recommended (based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet).
2. Recommendations on dietary cholesterol are another important change to the guidelines. The updated guidelines place no daily limit on dietary cholesterol. This comes from lack of strong evidence that shows limiting cholesterol-rich foods lowers the amount of LDL cholesterol (a contributor to heart disease) that ends up in the blood.
3. The recommendations also encourage the increased consumption of different types of protein foods including nuts, seeds and seafood.”
   

So what should my diet look like?

Sarah Downs: “It’s important to note that the eating patterns recommended by the DGA’s focus on the big picture but can be tailored to individual preferences.

These healthy patterns include:

• Fruits and vegetables – a variety of different types of fruits and vegetables
• Grains – half of grains should be whole grains
• Dairy – fat-free or low-fat dairy products and/or fortified soy beverages
• Protein – a variety of protein foods including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and soy products
• Oils – here’s a link to a Best Food Facts post that breaks down the different types of oils.

Things to Limit

• Saturated fats less than 10 percent of calories per day
• Added sugars to less than 10 percent of calories per day
• Sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams per day”

Bottom Line:

Focus on the whole diet rather than individual pieces.
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Reference: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8^th Edition. December 2015. Available at http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/.

_{The image “d2536-1” by U.S. Department of Agriculture is licensed under CC BY 2.0.}

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Consumers are becoming increasingly more interested in where their food comes from, and they have a right to know what they’re eating. Should foods containing GMOs be labeled so that consumers are aware of whether their foods contain them, and so they can have the choice to purchase them or not?

Dr. Byrne:

In an ideal world, consumers would be well informed about the pros and cons of GMOs and would make rational decisions about whether to purchase or avoid them. In my experience, the general public, as well as groups that one would expect to be better informed (such as high school science teachers) are very poorly informed. The anti-GMO groups have been so diligent in spreading fearful messages about GMOs that I expect a label would be interpreted as a warning that there is something dangerous about GMOs in food.

In an ideal world, consumers would be well informed about the pros and cons of GMOs and would make rational decisions about whether to purchase or avoid them
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified GMOs as Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS), so do we really need to label food products containing GMOs?

Dr. Byrne:

The FDA does require labels in cases where a GMO food has altered allergenic, toxic, or nutritional properties compared to the conventional counterpart. GMOs, like any new technology, have potential risks that should be carefully evaluated before they are de-regulated. The risks will vary depending on the crop, the trait and the specific transgene involved. Therefore, it is important to have a regulatory system that carefully evaluates risks and benefits and acts to ensure public safety.

Are there currently any GMO labeling requirements?

Dr. Byrne:

In addition to what’s mentioned above, FDA has published guidelines on voluntary labeling of GMO-containing foods or foods without GMO ingredients.

What benefits are there for labeling GMO food products?

Dr. Byrne:

If a consumer chooses to avoid GMO-containing foods for whatever reason, he/she would be able to do so by paying attention to labels. Labeling could open up markets for non-GMO foods.

What disadvantages are there for labeling GMO food products?

Dr. Byrne:

Although there are many uncertainties about the cost of labeling, there would certainly be some increased costs involved, due to the need for testing and segregation of products. The costs would be imposed on the whole food system, not just those concerned about the issue. The US food system infrastructure is currently not capable of segregating GMO and non-GMO ingredients and products. The restriction on GMOs in the form of labeling would likely discourage investment in future development of GMO crop varieties. This would be unfortunate, because for certain traits and crops GMO technology might be the most environmentally beneficial and cost-effective solution to a problem such as drought stress or insect damage.

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