Dear Readers,
I thought you’d like to see the latest on the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015, if you have not already.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC, also listed as DGA) makes recommendations to the US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services about what should be published in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, scheduled for September of 2015.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) is the academy that oversees America’s Registered Dietitians. Two items of interest are listed below:
Academy Submits 2015 DGA Recommendations http://buff.ly/1OVAkwb and Academy Of Nutrition And Dietetics Commends Strong, Evidence-Based Dietary Guidelines Report http://buff.ly/1ISZviC (Press Release)
Quotes that follow are from the Press Release, above. Underlines are my own emphasis, and not part of the original text.
Cholesterol and Saturated Fat:
“In comments recently submitted to USDA and HHS, the Academy supports the DGAC in its decision to drop dietary cholesterol from the nutrients of concern list and recommends it deemphasize saturated fat from nutrients of concern, given the lack of evidence connecting it with cardiovascular disease” (by the way, the DGAC and AND agree on cholesterol)
Sodium:
“There is a distinct and growing lack of scientific consensus on making a single sodium consumption recommendation for all Americans, owing to a growing body of research suggesting that the low sodium intake levels recommended by the DGAC are actually associated with increased mortality for healthy individuals,” Connor said.
Sugar:
“The Academy supports an increased focus on reduction of added sugars as a key public health concern.” (not far enough, IMO–see my next post Depressed Much? Starches and Sweets Could Be To Blame, which describes the role of refined starches in raising blood sugar and causing blood sugar “crashes”.)
So, here it is. I hope these new recommendations will be emphasized in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015 to be issued later this year, scheduled for as early as next month.
If the recommendations from the AND are not fully adopted it will be interesting to see whether America’s Registered Dietitians and its Academy practice in accordance with current Academy recommendations, or default to US Government recommendations. Stay tuned.