New Dietary Guidlines Coming Out for Americans

[SGOS]

Sorry, I can’t find a link for this, but yesterday I caught part of an interview on NPR about the new nutritional guidelines that will be released by the government for Americans.  A doctor who has read some of the preliminary reports says that there are significant changes and that “the new guidelines will be more fact based.”  What??   If they are going to be fact based this time, what were they before?

Well, it turns out that the old guidelines were not decided upon by nutritionists and medical professionals with actual knowledge and data at their disposal, but by a political committee which was heavily influenced by lobbyists from the food producing industries.  All those warnings  about too much cholesterol, and not enough carbohydrates turns out to be what’s good for certain food producers who offered members of the political committee the most monetary rewards and extra perks for putting the stuff they make in the best light.

This should be no surprise.  Anyone who hasn’t been in a coma for the last 50 years knows that science plays but a minor role in political decision making, with the government serving as a propaganda machine between industry and the public.  (my opinion)

According to studies, many of the causes of heart disease we believed were there before actually have negative, rather than positive correlations with existing claims.  For example as butter and egg consumption increases, heart diseases have actually decreased.  This is also born out in observations of other countries with different dietary habits.  Sweden was specifically mentioned as a country with a high dairy and egg intake, but a lower heart disease rate than the US.

They talked about several other changes that will be more fact based too, but I can’t remember them all.  I apologize for that.  I was getting in and out of the car doing business, while the NPR program was on.

At any rate, these changes will no doubt be billed as basing the changes on “new information and more up to date data.”  How it actually relates to our health and physical well being will remain a question.  It’s still the same political system, with the donors changing from time to time.

[stromboli]

As a Diabetic I follow all the food trends and new information. I learned the hard way a lot of it was BS. I now have a diet that includes avocados, eggs and whole grain breads and butter that I didn't have a year ago and I've lost weight. I'm down from XXX to XL, so it definitely works. Potatoes is a biggie- one source I read more than a year ago said potatoes were good for Diabetics. I learned some months ago that potatoes are an insulin blocker. Shit like that can drive you crazy.

[Hydra009]

I'm looking at the 2015 report.

Basically, it doesn't seem like anything we didn't know before.  Poor diet + over-consumption of calories + lack of exercise = fat epidemic.  With particular emphasis on overconsumption of saturated fats and salt.

Underconsumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy.  Which leads directly to underconsumption of calcium, vitamin D, fiber, and potassium.  (And iron for some women)

"A healthy dietary pattern is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains."

[Solitary]

This is very disturbing to me  because before I had all my health problems I was following the guide line. I never did believe eggs were bad because my grandfather ate bacon and eggs with buttered toast every breakfast and lived to 90 years old with no health problems in his whole life.  Is there anyone, or any health news you can trust anymore? I had a dentist want to charge my wife and I $1600 dollars for having periodontal disease and when we went to different dentist we neither had the disease and it cost us $15 to have them cleaned. I had a pituitary adenoma on my brain causing me to have seizures and going blind in one eye that dropped me as a patient because my wife and her sister wanted him to give them a prescription for the operation to be done. He was a former DO that lost his license, and also his MD one. So you can't even trust you insurance companies so-called doctors they recommend. Everything is about money anymore, with no ethics being practiced. Solitary

[Solitary]

I'm looking at the 2015 report.

Basically, it doesn't seem like anything we didn't know before.  Poor diet + over-consumption of calories + lack of exercise = fat epidemic.  With particular emphasis on overconsumption of saturated fats and salt.

Underconsumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and dairy.  Which leads directly to underconsumption of calcium, vitamin D, fiber, and potassium.  (And iron for some women)

"A healthy dietary pattern is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar-sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains."

Thanks Hydra! Solitary

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Undoubtedly arsenic and rusty carpet tacks are good for you now.. 

[Solitary]

SmOff Please don't tell us what your healthy diet is, and sex is not a diet item, even if you like pie.  Brownies are of course, especially with the right ingredients. 

[SGOS]

I'm looking at the 2015 report.

Basically, it doesn't seem like anything we didn't know before. 

No, a lot of the things they discussed that are different are apparently only different from previous guidelines.  For example, the butter and eggs ban has been being rethought for a few years now, so it didn't seem like a big surprise to me.  This new one (maybe it's 2015, because they said it was not out yet) apparently thinks we've been too concerned about cholesterol.

[Munch]

As a Diabetic I follow all the food trends and new information. I learned the hard way a lot of it was BS. I now have a diet that includes avocados, eggs and whole grain breads and butter that I didn't have a year ago and I've lost weight. I'm down from XXX to XL, so it definitely works. Potatoes is a biggie- one source I read more than a year ago said potatoes were good for Diabetics. I learned some months ago that potatoes are an insulin blocker. Shit like that can drive you crazy.

Oh fuck, really? D:, where's the website about the potatoes, I'm diabetic and potatoes is like one of the main carbohydrate foods I eat for dinners when not having pasta :(

[kilodelta]

I hate nutrition fact checking. Multiple sites say grapefruits are bad for kidney stones. Then the British Journal for Nutrition states that grapefruits are great for kidney stones. Which one is it? Damnit.

[SGOS]

I hate nutrition fact checking. Multiple sites say grapefruits are bad for kidney stones. Then the British Journal for Nutrition states that grapefruits are great for kidney stones. Which one is it? Damnit.

You know... when it comes to diet, everybody seems to claim something different.  There's books and books still to be written, more late night infomercials, and more Jane Fonda exercise tapes still to be made.  The various sources of knowledge about diet often seem more like ideologies that an actual compilations of data.

[pr126]

I have diabetes, a recent coronary bypass, and I am very particular about my diet.
First off, reduction of carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes because carbs are turned into glucose.
No processed (ready meal) foods at all.

Some wholemeal bread, whole meal pasta, brown /wild rice and minimal potatoes.
Carbs 120, max 150 gr a day.
Proteins are fine.
Meat (lean), eggs, fish, plenty of green veg (not root veg), olive oil, no unsarurated fats.

Salads. No carbonated drinks, sugars of any sort.
Lost 20 Kg weight, down to 68 Kg.

A handful of meds daily.






 

[Munch]

Pr126 what type of diabetes do you have, 1 or 2, I'm assuming type 1 since you said meds

[stromboli]

I'm type 2. I take Metformin for mine, but really my blood sugar is always good because I don't eat any refined sugars.  The drugs I do take are for high blood pressure, but I've been reduced on those since losing weight. Like PR, only whole grain bread and whole wheat pastas but much less now. Eat fish, whole oatmeal and chicken I prepare, occasionally some canned soup. My only variation is Diet Mountain Dew, one can per day mixed with green tea. I totally avoid fast foods. Haven't eaten at McDonald's for 3 years. I read about potatoes here:

http://www.prevention.com/health/diabetes/beat-your-sugar-and-starch-addiction

How do you break this cycle and get your body to work optimally again? Happily, you don't need to go on an extreme diet. The first step is just to reduce the blood sugar spikes that produce sharp increases of insulin. The substance in our diet that's most responsible for these surges is starchâ€"namely, anything made from potatoes, rice, flour, corn, or other grains. (Think pasta, lasagna, white bread, doughnuts, cookies, and cakes.) You could cut out these foods entirely. But wouldn't it be great if there were a way to solve the problem without completely eliminating these carbs?

I used to live on a Southwest diet of corn and flour tacos and lots of soda pop. Green tea has been a great help. It keeps you hydrated, has some flavor, cheap and easy to brew and sweeten it with Stevia and not sugar. It also helps with Diabetes and high blood pressure.

Oh and btw- exercise regularly for fitness, but diet is the big key to weight loss. I snack now on pickles or a handful of raw oatmeal with a glass of water or tea. And very little cheese, which for some reason really messes up my blood sugar.
And eat regularly- not one or two big meals but 2-4 small ones during the day. Stay filled with good stuff, greens or whole grains. Occasional red meat, but I've substituted ground turkey for about 2/3 of my previous hamburger intake.

[SGOS]

The guy they interviewed repeated many times that the new guidelines would specify various nutritional guidelines for Americans.  It was kind of funny.  He said it as though Americans have different nutritional needs than other humans.  I Know what he meant, however; It is what the US government is telling us we need.  Other countries will make their own decisions about what is best for themselves.  I guess Americans could opt to follow Swedish guidelines.  My grandparents came from Sweden, so it would probably be better for my Swedish physiology to ignore my political leaders, and eat according to my heritage.  I love Swedish pancakes made with heavy cream and butter and rolled up with lingonberries.  I don't think my political leaders have any idea how many lingonberries I should eat in one sitting.