The 2015 Dietary Guidelines: The Advisory Committee Makes Recommendations

I am not going to spend many hours of our time creating numerous posts to break down the newest (and pending) edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as I did 5 years ago.  Holy cows! Five years ago?!

I am not going to do it because others, with better nutritional backgrounds, have already been hitting the highlights and controversies and because you can read the report yourself.

But as is my style, I will say a few things before I link you to the document and one of my favorite blog posts related to it.

• Calories are as important as ever and a majority of the population - all ages - consume more than they need to maintain a health weight.  A healthy weight, better measured as waist circumference or waist to hip ratio than on a scale or BMI, is one in which the body does not have excess fat.
• Sugar quickly increases calories without adding nutrients - except naturally occurring sugar in fruits and vegetables - and dietary fat, though not necessarily harmful, has a lot of calories and therefore should be limited in the diet - animal sources and full fat dairy are a continuing concern in these guidelines.
• Plant based diets are still the best.
• Exercise is key to better health - better health.  Let's just stop talking about it as a way to lose weight or eat more, whether it helps with that or not does not matter as much as this:  Exercise in and of itself is a necessary component of good health!
• Taxes and info: Environmental strategies, the likes of which I focus my research on, are promoted in the recommendations. The Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee talks about the need for information disclosure at the point of purchase and taxes on sugar sweetened beverages.

Two excerpts from the full report of the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

What to eat: 

Following a dietary pattern associated with reduced risk of CVD, overweight, and obesity also will have positive health benefits beyond these categories of health outcomes. Thus, the U.S. population should be encouraged and guided to consume dietary patterns that are rich in vegetables, fruit, whole grains, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in low- and non-fat dairy  products and alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat; and low in sugar-  sweetened foods and beverages and refined grains. These dietary patterns can be achieved in many ways and should be tailored to the individual’s biological and medical needs as well as socio-cultural preferences. 

The food environment:

Align nutritional and agricultural policies with Dietary Guidelines recommendations and  make broad policy changes to transform the food system so as to promote population  health, including the use of economic and taxing policies to encourage the production and  consumption of healthy foods and to reduce unhealthy foods. For example, earmark tax revenues from sugar-sweetened beverages, snack foods and desserts high in calories, added sugars, or sodium, and other less healthy foods for nutrition education initiatives and obesity prevention programs.  

Click here for a great blog post by Dr. David Katz 

Reconsidering Saturated Fat

I find myself in crunch time again, but wanted to get this different point of view out to you .
   I have been a strong advocate for avoiding saturated fat and have oft described myself as a saturated fat phobic, calorie aware semi vegetarian.  That is for the most part still true of me.
It is also true that I consider research and commentary that comes form Harvard School of Public Health and Yale's Research Centers to be of high quality.  So when David Katz, MD MPH from Yale wrote a blog stating that some of the food constituent extremists... ('fat' is bad, 'sat fat' is bad, 'trans fat' is bad, 'sugar' is bad).might missing a point or two, it gave me pause.
   Dr. Katz is not saying that saturated fat is without problems or that it is not linked to heart problems (it may have a role in thickening or hardening of the arteries for instance).  What he does say is that the problem with diets high in saturated fat and or high in sugar... or similarly, diets high in fried foods and refined grains (e.g., cakes, pastries, white pastas and rice) are likely to be LOW in the foods that we know are healthy or which protect against heart disease (e.g., fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains).
   I am going to link you to his post, even though I don't agree with all of it and don't like how his page is full of ads.  I don't have time to go into more detail for you and do want you to hear his points.
Here is his post.    

Holy Memphis Calories Batman

Mom and I were enjoying a healthy dinner that I prepared (shiritaki noodles Mexican, kale and baby corn) when a Hardees commercial aired. 
As best I remember, the screen was mostly filled with the picture below  - but it showed a man with his hand on the sandwich and then taking bites of it.  He looked very happy.  We both said, "Oh my gosh!"  And Mom said something about there being French Fries inside the bun, but they turned out to be onion rings.  When I showed her the picture she pointed out the pulled pork which I thought was just BBQ sauce.  Then she said, "there's a burger too?!"
Of course I looked up the information on the website and this is what I found.  First of all, there are three versions.  A 'little' one, a 1/3 burger and a monster burger.  The calorie, saturated (unhealthy) fat, and sugar grams are provided for each below, in order of size.  Sugar grams, you say?  Yes, me too.  I guess it is from the sauces.

Ger full nutrition information here.

  Calories  710
    Saturated Fat  14g
     Sugar 28g

  Calories 960
    Saturated Fat 19g
     Sugar  31g
   
 Calories 1000
    Saturated Fat 23g
     Sugar 31g
BTW, Mom did not finish her dinner because she said she was too full - her dinner had LESS THAN 200 calories and no saturated fat... that is what I call Volumetrics :) - well, Barbara Rolls, PhD calls it Volumetrics, but you know what I meant.  Low calorie, high nutrient density.  Its a healthy, yet filling, way to eat.

Can You Trust Your Vegetables?

I am not sure if I can return to daily or regular blog posting, but I do remain your observant food policy, diet quality advocate.   

Two recent observations are of particular importance when it comes to dining out.  IF you are interested in avoiding extra calories from saturated fat or sugar than they may interest you.

1) Cracker Barrel soaks its carrots in sugar.  I was told this by a spouse of an employee.  The person shared that Cracker Barrell is set to post all calorie information on its menus in January (to conform with the national menu labeling law).  My informant told me that the chain was changing some of its items in order to get ready.  I laughed, saying, surely there wasn't anything on the menu that wasn't loaded in saturated fat.  Then she mentioned the vegetables and I said, oh BUTTER and she said NO, Sugar!  I was stunned.
2) Elsewhere: Steamed vegetables may come served in butter unless you specifically request otherwise.  Sometimes butter free isn't an option.  For example, I was at a restaurant/sports bar called Kickback Jacks and the menu offered steamed vegetables.  I ordered these, but just to be safe, I added that I did not want any butter on them.  The waitress came back to the table and said that the cook said that was not possible.  The vegetables were already in the kitchen sitting in butter.  He did offer to rinse them off but could not guarantee that they would be butter free.  On the positive side - the waitress admitted that.  I am not unhappy if a restaurant cannot oblige me, but I am angry when they try to fool me. (I have had vegetables served "dry" but somehow glistening and greasy). For this dinner, I simply chose a side salad instead.  It was a very nice salad served with a nice balsamic vinegar.  (Note: A tablespoon of butter has over 7 grams of saturated fat)
  

Boston Market a Plus and a Minus

   The restaurant chain, Boston Market, has committed to reducing sodium availability at their stores.  Literally.  They will not put salt shakers on the tables.  Recall, Argentina - the country - did the same thing about a year ago in all the restaurants in its capital.
    Table shakers are not the only Boston Market strategy.  They are also reducing sodium/salt in some of their menu items.  The news story I read made a point to mention a salt reduction in mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese.  So yes, that is the minus. Not that they are reducing salt, but that they serve mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese!  Both are items that are not part of the quality diets we have been discussing throughout the summer.  They are very starchy and as made at Boston Market, high in calories and moderate in saturated fat.  
   So YES!  Reduce the salt.  Salt is related to hypertension for many people.  Salt does not have calories however.  It would be nice if the restaurant chain would modify the recipes for lower energy density as well.
    Here is their menu - so you can see the nutrient information.

My OFB is the city's FOG

It is a pretty well known fact that I do not cook with any oil, fat or butter and that when I go to restaurants, I order my grilled seafood and steamed veggies without any oil, fat or butter - or as I like to say no OFB.

I do use monounsaturated oils - especially olive oil - I just don't cook with it.

I am admittedly saturated fat phobic. However, more of us should be afraid of that artery clogging fat.  Saturated fat is what you find in red meats, fried foods, and many baked goods.

I do want to keep my blood lipids (blood fats) low as to prevent plaque build up and hardening of my arteries - things which can lead to a heart attack oh and if your a man - erectile dysfunction (i.e. blood flow to the penis:)). (of course, saturated fat is very high in calories too!)

FOG is something similar.  I got a little postcard in my mailbox yesterday from the city - it told me that FOG - fats, oils and grease - can clog the sewer system and I needed to NOT pour them down my sink or into my toilet.  The city suggested that if I put FOG in the trash my pipes would not clog.

Thus - FOG or OFB - whatever you call it - it is best to trash it.