WASHINGTON – The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, released Jan. 31, take a four-pronged approach focus to improving American’s dietary habits by recommending balancing calories and exercise to achieve a healthy body weight, restricting sodium and saturated fat, increasing consumption of whole grains and healthy fats, and developing mindful behaviors around eating and food preparation.
"We are putting some of the best information in people’s hands, and that’s a big step forward," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who presented the guidelines with Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The guidelines are a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture.
Photo credit: Courtesy National Cancer Institute
Increasing consumption of whole grains and healthy fats and developing mindful behaviors around eating and food preparation are key under the federal government's new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010.
The guidelines, intended for children aged 2 years and older and adults, include 23 recommendations in four categories, plus six additional recommendations for specific population groups. The guidelines are meant to include those at increased risk of chronic disease. The four categories are:
Balancing calories to reduce weight: Recommendations in this category include getting more exercise and balancing it against calorie intake as appropriate for weight maintenance or weight loss.
• Reducing certain foods and food components: The guidelines call for consuming less than 2,300 mg of sodium daily. The recommendation is no more than 1,500 mg for blacks, people aged 51 years and older, as well as anyone regardless of age who has hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. Other recommended reductions include having saturated fats comprise less that 10% of daily calories, and consuming less than 300 mg of cholesterol daily.
• Increasing certain foods and nutrients: The recommendations repeat previous dietary guidelines that call for whole-grain foods to comprise half of Americans’ grain intake. Other recommendations include replacing solid fats , eating more seafood in favor of some red meat and poultry, replacing full-fat dairy products with low-fat or fat-free options, and consuming a variety of protein-rich foods including eggs, beans, nuts, and soy.
• Building healthy eating patterns and behaviors: In addition to 20 recommendations relating to diet and exercise, the new guidelines include 3 recommendations that are less food specific: Select an eating pattern that "meets nutrient needs over time at an appropriate calorie level;" and keep a food journal to assess how food and beverage choices fit into a healthy eating pattern; follow food safety recommendations when cooking and eating to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
Kathleen Sebelius
Women of child-bearing age should boost iron intake by eating foods with easily absorbed heme iron and vitamin C–rich foods that enhance iron absorption. Additional recommendations include adding 400 mcg of folic acid daily for women, in addition to the folate found in a healthy diet. Recommendations for women who are pregnant or breast-feeding include eating 8-12 ounces of seafood per week, but limiting tuna consumption to 6 ounces per week and avoiding tilefish, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel because of their high mercury content. Pregnant women also are advised to take an iron supplement as recommended by their health care providers.
One additional recommendation for individuals aged 50 years and older: Consume vitamin B12-fortified foods as part of a daily diet or as supplements. However, the guidelines did not recommend a specific amount of daily B12 for this population.
Over the next few months, USDA and HHS will release consumer tips and tools to help Americans follow the guidelines, including a revised food pyramid. The complete guidelines are available online at www.dietaryguidelines.gov.