Secretary Perdue: Please fix the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Three things we need every beef producer to do today to help shape the next Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
January 22, 2019
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have evolved over time. In my opinion, this evolution has been for the worse.
In the 1960s, the USDA released “A Guide To Good Eating,” which recommended that adults drink 2+ glasses of milk daily and children 3-4 or more glasses per day. Additionally, Americans were encouraged to eat one egg per day and one or more servings of meat, cheese, fish and poultry daily. To round out these recommendations, the guide called for 2+ tablespoons of butter daily.
In the 1970s, fat was declared public enemy number one, and we saw a dramatic shift to increasing our consumption of grains, fruits and vegetables while limiting animal fats and proteins.
Per the latest Dietary Guidelines, it’s suggested that Americans consume 5.5 ounces of protein foods, including lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, nut or dry beans—but teen boys and men should eat less meat, poultry and eggs.
We are told to consume less than 10% of our calories from saturated fats and replace with mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. We should limit butter and other dairy foods. We should “eat as little as possible” of cholesterol-rich foods like eggs. And we should avoid bacon, cold cuts and other processed meats and limit our consumption of red meat and cheese.
You’re probably thinking — “Well, who follows the Dietary Guidelines anyway? I certainly don’t.” However, these guidelines dictate the requirements for meals served at schools, daycares, nursing homes, hospitals, military and more.
Now, in just a few short weeks (if the government re-opens), experts will be selected to serve on the next Dietary Guidelines committee. These experts are chosen with consultation from the USDA and U.S. Health and Human Services.
It is critical that the right folks get selected to serve on this committee as these new recommendations will become the cornerstone for nutrition in the upcoming years.
Science journalist and author of “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat & Cheese Belong In The Diet,” Nina Teicholz says, “We have worked to get some people nominated—scientists like Sarah Hallberg who have a strong understanding of the latest science on low-carbohydrate diets and saturated fats. Also, we have worked to support the nominations of evidence-based specialists who know that when evaluating data, clinical trials on humans should be prioritized over epidemiological data.