Why the Government's New Dietary Guidelines Could Set Off a Food Fight

[ND-Dem]

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) has already garnered headlines because its members are advocating revisions to decades-old warning about cholesterol consumption. An overview of the committee’s Dec. 15, 2014 meeting says, “Cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.” That benign-sounding statement overturns decades of official dietary advice, and it could prove to be a boon for the egg industry.

But scientists on the panel will also be calling for even broader changes to Americans’ dietary guidelines, including “more plant-based foods and lower amounts of meat than are currently consumed by the U.S. population." The new recommendations could see the government take a tougher line on added sugars and red meat consumption. Though these changes are in line with views of health organizations, they are worrisome to the multi-billion dollar food manufacturing industry, including the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), because they may lead to costly changes in product formulations.

The nutrition experts this year want to advise people that added sugars should be limited to 10 percent of someone’s daily caloric intake, a change from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines that said “no more than about 5 to 15 percent of calories from solid fats and added sugars (combined) can be reasonably accommodated in a healthy eating pattern.” Another proposal calls on the U.S. population to consume diets that are “lower in red and processed meats,” a change from earlier guidelines that encouraged people to eat lean beef.

The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture aren’t bound by the DGAC’s recommendations when issuing their “Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” but they have tended to hew closely to the advisory panel’s recommendations. Those official Dietary Guidelines, updated every five years, then influence everything from the advice your doctor gives you to the school lunches your child receives. Food manufacturers in the past have removed salt, sugar and artificial trans fats in response to concerns about health issues such as obesity and heart disease...

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/why-the-governments-new-dietary-guidelines-could-set-off-a-food-fight/ar-BBhJhE5?ocid=iehp

[BronxBoy]

1. LOL....

The beef industry is going to go apeshit

[Fawke Em]

2. Nothing about changing the high amount of carbohydrates it currently advises?

Unless you're a kid, an athlete or work with your body in some fashion, eating the amount of carbohydrates - even the "good" kind - when you get passed the age of about 30 increases your chances of packing on weight and getting diabetes.

The sedentary human body - which most of us are now - simply doesn't need that much carbohydrate.

[meow2u3]

3. The government's recommendations are not good for diabetics

High carbs have been blamed for triggering the obesity epidemic. With obesity comes diabetes in those genetically prone to the disease. Not good, Uncle Sam.