The U.S. Government issues new dietary guidelines every five years – the public gets 45 days to weigh in and then Health and Human Services Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture use the report as the basis for new guidelines.
Following are some of the new findings:
- “On average, the U.S diet is low in vegetables, fruit and whole grains and too high in calories, saturated fat, sodium, refined grains and added sugars. Americans eat too little vitamin D, calcium, potassium and fiber and eat way too much fat and salt. And these bad eating habits make us sick.
- “About half of all Americans – 117 million individuals – have one or more preventable chronic diseases that relate to poor dietary patterns and physical inactivity, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and diet-related cancer.
- “More than two-thirds of adult and nearly one-third of children and youth are overweight or obese – None of this should come as news, but despite sustained and dedicated education campaigns, Americans still eat too much white flour and sugar, drink too many soft drinks and eat too much animal fat.
- “These devastating health problems have persisted for decades, strained U.S health care costs, and focused the attention of our health care system on disease, rather than prevention...
- “Water is the preferred beverage of choice. (NOTE: They do say a little coffee is alright, but there we differ – coffee is a dangerous drug – more on that in a future Health Tip.)
- ”Kids should exercise an hour a day and adults should exercise at least an hour and a half a week.
- “A diet higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legume, nuts and seeds and LOWER in calories than animal-based foods and is more health promoting and is associated with less environmental impact than is the current U.S. diet”
