New U.S. Food Guidelines Stress Vegetables, Grains

From Reuters:

New eating guidelines issued by the U.S. government on Wednesday stress that most Americans are overweight and need to eat more vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

The guidelines, updated every five years, recommend eating up to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and specify that at least three of the daily servings of grains be whole grains such as whole wheat, oats or brown rice.

They also emphasize getting at least 30 minutes of exercise every day -- an hour for children. And officials said the "food pyramid" may be replaced by something easier to understand.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said the guidelines are meant in part to help Americans understand they are responsible for their own health.

"Let's face it. Everyone in America is looking to NIH (the National Institutes of Health) to come up with that (diet) pill. It's not going to happen," he told a news conference.

The guidelines, published on the Internet at http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines, set standards for U.S. school breakfasts and lunches and other federal programs, but are also aimed at the average consumer.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which lobbied to change the guidelines, praised them.

"They look to me like they are the strongest diet guidelines yet produced," said Michael Jacobson, the group's director. "There is a major emphasis on fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products."

While not setting limits on processed sugar, the guidelines steer Americans away from sweetened foods in several places.

"Many of the recommendations are not significantly different from what has been recommended in the past, whether it is eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and dairy sources," Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman told the news conference.

COUNTERING THE ADS

The consumer groups and Thompson said it was up to them to counter aggressive food advertising and educate Americans about a healthy diet.

"Most Americans currently are not eating a healthy diet," said Margo Wootan, nutrition director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Only 12 percent follow the 2000 guidelines, she added.

"While school meals programs are required to meet dietary guidelines ... the USDA is going to have to issue more regulations," Wootan said.

Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin, a member of the Senate appropriations panel that funds health care initiatives, agreed.

"Much more needs to be done in Congress and throughout our communities to give Americans the tools they need to eat right and maintain a healthy weight," he said.

The report said Americans should avoid trans-fats, which are created in processing vegetable oils and have been found to be as unhealthy as pure cholesterol.

"The guidelines should specifically recommend Americans avoid meat, dairy, and fish," said Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which advocates a strict vegetarian diet. "The USDA must take the Big Meat, Big Sugar, and Big Dairy industries' money and influence out of the guidelines process."

Veneman denied the food industry had much influence on the guidelines.

"The process that was used to develop these guidelines was more rigorous, more science-based and more transparent than ever before," she said.

Many major U.S. food manufacturers had stepped up their efforts to make food more nutritious.

General Mills Inc., for instance, announced last year it would begin using whole grains in all of its breakfast cereals and Kellogg Co. recently introduced a new whole-grain cereal aimed at children called Tiger Power.