If you are confused about what foods to eat and which
constitute a healthy routine diet, you are not alone. In fact, this year has
been extraordinary for its confusion and contention surrounding nutrition
science and dietary guidelines. In fact, the experts - nutrition and public
health – do not agree. The controversy was simmering even before the release of
the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report, an update to the
Guidelines I meticulously explained and passionately promoted 5 years ago –
before I joined the rank of researcher (i.e., became a more critical reviewer).
Did the uproar over the Committee’s recommendations make its
way into your daily news briefs? If so, you’ll know that the contention was
strongest around the recommendation to lower meat intake, not just for health,
but for the planet – for sustainability.
After the report was released, a non-scientist, nutrition
journalist published a scathing article on the recommendations, which led to a crusade by the Center for
Science in the Public Interest and a point by point response letter signed by
over 100 experts, researchers and scholars (myself included) that was posted just about a
week ago.
There is not just dissent on the recommendations, which
include less salt, less saturated fat, less sugar, but also on the scientific
evidence used and the scientific process itself. So much so, that the recently
passed Omnibus Appropriations Bill 2016, delays the release of the guidelines!
Read for yourself (selected text from the Congressional directives):
Congress continues to be concerned about the
quality of scientific evidence and extraneous factors that were included in the
2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's Scientific Report.
To ensure the guidelines adhere to the
nutritional and dietary scope of the law and are based upon sound science, bill
language has been included clearly stating that the final guidelines cannot be released or implemented unless they are
based upon significant scientific agreement and adhere to the statutory
mandate.
Questions have been raised about the
scientific integrity of the process in developing the dietary guidelines and
whether balanced nutritional information is reaching the public. The entire
process used to formulate and establish the guidelines needs to be reviewed
before future guidelines are issued. It is imperative that
the guidelines be based upon strong, balanced science and focus on providing consumers with dietary and nutritional
information that will assist them in eating a healthy and balanced diet. At
a minimum, the process should include: full transparency, a lack of bias, and
the inclusion and consideration of all of the latest available research and
scientific evidence, even that which challenges current dietary
recommendations.
The agreement (the Budget) provides $1,000,000
to review the dietary guideline process.
And that’s not
all! The Omnibus Appropriations Bill takes aim at school nutrition and calorie
labeling as well. The federal government by enactment of this bill, further
delays calorie postings for grocery stores and ‘similar retail establishments,’
which I am assuming are the bowling alleys, movie theatres and convenience
stores. My colleagues tell me that the FDA had already made those postponements
and the Budget Bill just makes it a mandate. I might have been too focused on
vending – which was already set for 2016 – to have noticed. What I am thinking
is 1) this calorie labeling is never gonna happen and 2) if the federal law is
not in place, state and local laws can’t be pre-empted, thus they can remain
more restrictive… good for Philadelphia.
With regard to the
school lunch program, schools can have more time to figure out how to increase
the whole grain content of meals – though 95% of schools haven’t suggested that
they need more time, so this is dumb. Also, the rule to lower the sodium
content to a new lower goal has been halted pending scientific evidence that it
is necessary to do so for health.
Here are a couple
of links re the budget that was just passed.
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