By: Laura Mushrush, assistant editor, Drovers CattleNetwork
Servings of lean meat, poultry, eggs and dairy remain in the newly established 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In a long awaiting arrival, the United Stated Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services released the updated guidelines on Jan. 7. The DGA’s are broken into three diet plans: Healthy U.S. Style Eating Pattern, Healthy Mediterranean Style Eating Pattern, and the Healthy Vegetation Eating Pattern.
“The Dietary Guidelines provides a clear path for the general public, as well as policy makers and health professionals and others who reach the public, to help Americans make healthy choices, informed by a thoughtful, critical, and transparent review of the scientific evidence on nutrition,” says representatives for USDA and HHS.
These recommendations will be pivotal in the education components of health professionals, Federal food and education programs, along with serving as a manual for registered dieticians, and focus on five overarching guidelines:
- Follow a healthy eating pattern across the lifespan
- Focus on a variety, nutrient-dense foods, and amount
- Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats to no more than 10% of total calories, and sodium to no more than 2,300 milligrams/day
- Choose healthy foods and beverages
- Support healthy eating patterns for all
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For a person on a 2,000 calorie a day diet on the U.S. Style Eating Pattern, it is recommended they allot 26 ounces of lean meat, poultry and eggs in their diet for a week. These protein foods are outlined as:
All seafood, meats, poultry, eggs, soy products, nuts, and seeds. Meats and poultry should be lean or low-fat and nuts should be unsalted. Legumes (beans and peas) can be considered part of this group as well as the vegetable group, but should be counted in one group only.
The same calorie bracket was also advised 3 servings of dairy, with recommendations of Americans choosing fat-free of low-fat options, and removing cream, sour cream and cream cheese from the list because of inadequate calcium levels.
The decision to keep animal protein in the guidelines has been applauded by many industry groups, especially the beef industry who has 38 cuts of beef that meet the government’s standards as a lean product.
