US Dietary Guidelines for 2020-2025
US Dietary Guidelines for 2020-2025
For the past three years, the federal government has been working on the new US dietary guidelines, which by law it must do every five years. This is done by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guidelines set the standard for federal nutrition programs, including school lunch and breakfast programs, besides providing the scientific basis for nutrition recommendations.
The process involves a committee of experts that for two years work their way through the latest research to develop the final report on current nutrition science, and working with agency staff and political leaders eventually publish the final guidelines.
Unfortunately, in the years preceding the release of the guidelines, various industry groups on behalf of the beer, wine, and liquor companies spent an average of $27 million per year to lobby members of Congress or influence the various federal agencies involved to bypass the scientific process. In August 2020, 28 members of Congress pressured the UDSA and HHS secretaries, challenging the scientific committee’s findings on alcohol and mortality. They were successful in changing the scientific recommendations from 1 alcoholic drink a day to 2 a day, and rejecting the new guidance for adults and children two and older, to reduce added sugar from a maximum of 10 % to 6% percent of daily calories.
Even though the new guidelines were a gift to the alcohol and soda industries, they do contain evidence-based guidance on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and saturated fats, and for the first time, include dietary recommendations for infants, toddlers, and pregnant and lactating women.
What is new?
The only change from the last version are the dietary recommendations for infants, toddlers under two, and pregnant and lactating women. These include that infants eat exclusively human milk for the first six months, with iron-fortified formula as a substitute when human milk is unavailable, and then introducing complementary foods after that.
The core dietary recommendations for the general population include:
Eating a diversity of plant-based foods – fruits, vegetable, and whole grains
Consume protein, including poultry, seafood, and legumes (beans, peas, and lentils)
Limit solid fats, sodium, and added sugars
Replacing “processed or high-fat meats” with beans, peas, lentils, or seafood
Unfortunately, the guidelines avoid addressing the negative health consequences of ultra-processed foods that have been recognized in international dietary guidance. (a reward to the corn, fast food, and snack industry?)
Here is the whole document, if you would like to read it.
www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf