By Time Well Spent
Honor Hawkins

Every five years, the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Doesn’t sound like a page-turner, but these guidelines reflect the most up-to-date, science-based expert opinion on how to be healthy and reduce disease risk. Given that about two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight, and a healthy lifestyle goes a long way toward preventing conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, some sensible health advice sounds like a good idea.

Registered Dietitian Emily Chapman, who counsels heart patients at the Medical University of South Carolina, agrees the new guidelines offer welcome respite from today’s profit-driven fad-diet industry. “This is how we have been telling clients to eat,” she says. “The guidelines focus on a well-balanced diet. They’re sensible.”

The updated suggestions don’t forbid any food, but emphasize good carbohydrates and fats and warn against health saboteurs like trans-fats and salt.

They are about weight maintenance, high blood pressure control and cancer prevention, not about looking like Cindy Crawford. “It’s so important for people to realize that being healthy can’t be about dieting,” says Chapman. “It has to be a lifestyle.”

To steer Americans away from drive-through restaurants and chronic disease and into the land of power walks and Omega-3s, the government will unveil an updated food pyramid based on these recommendations this spring.

Experts agree the current pyramid, over a decade old, reflects the scientific equivalent of legwarmers and shoulder pads.

In the meantime, the advice is available. It’s just a little dense and unphotogenic. So to help you get inspired, here are a few of the highlights.

Some of the suggestions won’t surprise you; some of them might hit a little hard (wait until you hear about the exercise recommendation). 

Reject trans-fats. Evil trans-fats have made the hit list of foods you should limit. Others include saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugar, salt and alcohol.

Buy stock in Centrum. Folks over 50 should supplement B12 intake through fortified foods or vitamins.

Time for new shoes. Exercise makes its first appearance in the guidelines, and in a big way. To maintain body weight as you age, shoot for 60 (yes 60) minutes of “moderate-to-vigorous” activity most days of the week. To lose weight, go for 60-90 minutes. Wow.

Pull out the measuring cup. Forget about “deck-of-cards,” “palm-of-your-hand” and other delightfully ambiguous serving suggestions. The new guidelines reflect cheat-free ounces and cups.

Load up on fiber. Lots of it. At least two cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables per day. While Chapman admits the new suggestions (the equivalent of around 13 servings) may be “unrealistic,” she thinks the even greater emphasis on fruits and vegetables is ideal for health promotion and disease prevention.

Get milk. The recommendation of three cups—up from two—of low or non-fat dairy is controversial. A few national public health experts, including Yale’s Dr. David Katz, hint that this recommendation derives more from excellent lobbying than sound research. Chapman isn’t sold either. “I’d like to see more scientific evidence,” she says.

Shake the salt habit. Limit salt intake to 2,300 mg, which is about one teaspoon. Middle-age and older adults should consume no more than 1,500 mg. To put it in perspective, 12 Cheetos have about 240 mg. One tablespoon of soy sauce has around 1,000 mg. A can of diet coke has 40 mg.

Know your fats. Fats should comprise 20-35% of total calories, with most of those coming from good sources like nuts, fish and vegetable oil. Keep saturated fats to less than 10% of daily calories.

Befriend carbs. In addition to the truckload of fruits and veggies, you’re encouraged to consume at least three ounce-equivalent whole-grain products per day. 

For the complete report, visit the American Dietetic Association, www.eatright.org. 

Honor Hawkins is a Charleston-based freelance writer.

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