Federal Government Releases New Dietary Guidelines

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Last week, the government released the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines urges Americans to focus on obtaining healthy eating patterns. So, what is a ‘healthy eating pattern’?

Healthy Eating Pattern Includes:

  • A variety of vegetables: dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy and other vegetables
  • Fruits, especially whole fruit
  • Grains, at least half of which are whole grain
  • Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages
  • A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), soy products, and nuts and seeds
  • Oils, including those from plants: canola, corn, olive, peanut, safflower, soybean, and sunflower. Oils also are naturally present in nuts, seeds, seafood, olives, and avocados.
  • Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from added sugars (this does not include naturally occurring sugars such as those consumed as part of milk and fruits.)
  • Limit saturated and trans fats. Less than 10% of your daily calories should come from saturated fats.
  • Limit sodium. Adults and children ages 14 years and over should limit sodium to less than 2,300 mg per day, and children younger than 14 years should consume even less.

The guidelines give three suggestions to Americans to help us get on track with our eating habits.

1. Eat for Health and for the Long Run
“A healthy eating pattern can be maintained over a person’s lifetime and, at appropriate calorie levels, promotes health and supports a healthy body weight. You can include many of the foods that you enjoy in a healthy eating pattern,” states the report. There is more than one type of healthy eating pattern — the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines includes various examples of healthy eating patterns. Learn more here.

2. Start with Small Changes
Changing your diet can be overwhelming. The new dietary guidelines suggest easing yourself into a new diet routine “Here’s more food for thought — almost 9 in 10 Americans get less than the recommended amount of vegetables. Instead of a whole new way of eating, find new ways to incorporate more veggies to dishes you’re already making.”

See more examples for making small shifts to food choices to help ensure that meals are nutritious, healthy, and delicious.

3. Support Healthy Choices for Everyone
The new guidelines encourage everyone to help their family, friends and community stay healthy. “Everyone has a role to play in encouraging easy, accessible, and affordable ways to support healthy choices at home, school, work, and in the community.”