Mar-Apr2016_Final-FlipBook

EAT RIGHT with ROUSES

The New Dietary Guidelines by Esther, Rouses Dietitian T heAgriculture andHealth andHumanServicesDepartment released its newest version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The guidelines are updated every five years and made to reflect the most recent and relevant nutrition research. While it’s always been, and always will be, recommended to eat more fruits and vegetables and maintain a well-balanced diet, some things have changed that you may or may not appreciate. The 2015-2020 guidelines recommends limiting your intake of added sugars to less than 10% of your total daily calorie intake, down from 15% last edition. This is equal to about 50 grams of added sugar a day for someone on a 2,000 calorie diet, the equivalent of four cups of Fruit Loops or one king-sized Snickers bar. The specification has prompted the FDA to suggest there be a change in nutrition facts labels, making the distinction between natural sugars and added sugars in a product. A theme of the DGA is that it’s more about type. For instance, it’s not overall sugar that’s bad; it’s added sugars.The same is true for the recommendations on fats. The current DGA remains consistent on limiting fat consumption to about 20-35% of your total caloric intake, but it puts more emphasis on the types of fats than the amount. It still suggests we limit saturated fats to no more than 10% of our daily intake (are you noticing the theme of 10?) but advises that we concern ourselves more with consuming heart-healthy fats: mono- and polyunsaturated fats found in foods like avocado, nuts, and seeds. It’s time to eat the whole egg again! In 2010, the DGA recommended limiting dietary cholesterol to less than 300 milligrams a day, but the newest dietary guidelines completely removed any quantitative recommendations on dietary

The recommendation to limit sodium consumption still remains, and the DGA recommends adults limit their sodium consumption to less than 2,300mg a day — that’s less than a teaspoon! Furthermore, it suggests reducing sodium intake to 1,500mg a day for those with prehypertension or hypertension (high blood pressure). I’ll leave you with good news — coffee fanatics can keep drinking! The long debated subject is finally being addressed. It’s a brand new topic added to the DGA and states that moderate coffee consumption (three to five 8-ounce cups a day) can be incorporated into healthy eating patterns. However, if you don’t currently drink coffee, it doesn’t recommend you start. While the DGA always provides specific recommendations, this time more than ever it stresses the importance of overall healthy lifestyle and eating patterns, which I’m much in favor of. Fill your plate full of produce, whole grains, and lean proteins, but don’t beat yourself up over one cookie — everything in moderation!

cholesterol, as most recent research doesn’t show solid evidence that dietary cholesterol impacts blood cholesterol levels. Again, it’s all about the type — dietary cholesterol versus blood cholesterol.The removal of the recommendation is partly to thank for the overall decline in cholesterol consumption among Americans since 2010— the average was lower than 300mg a day. The creators of the DGA are aware of the newest high protein craze, and they single out teenage boys and men for eating too much meat protein and suggest they include more vegetables in their diets. Besides this comment, the recommendations for meats and protein remain the same, specifically suggesting we consume lean meats, poultry, eggs, soy, nuts and beans, limiting processed meats. For a person on a 2,000-calorie diet, they recommend consuming 26 ounces of protein a week, or about 20% of your daily intake.

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