Column #23

January 7, 2016 the USDA released Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, Eighth Edition. Other than minor refinements and sugar reduction recommendations, the guidelines are basically the same as sixty years ago.

For 35 years researchers have been recommending major changes:
●    Low fat has been discredited and counting calories nearly abandoned
●    Balance essential fatty acids (EFAs) – increase Omega-3 fatty acids and reduce Omega-6
●    Eliminate sugar, high glycemic foods, vegetable oils, and soy products
●    Recommended foods are grass-fed meats, wild-caught seafood, and nutrient dense and diverse EFA balanced vegetables.

The “new” USDA guidelines recommend only 3.7 ounces of animal protein per day including eggs! A large egg weighs 2.0 ounces. The preference is “nuts, seeds, and soy products” which are major sources of Omega-6 fatty acids that block the absorption of Omega-3.

What do cutting edge researchers say?

Cheryl Achterberg, Ph.D., Ohio State University Dean of the College of Education and Human Ecology and nutrition researcher said: “I can speak from experience when I say that the process used to develop the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommendations does not assure that the best science is used.”

David A. McCarron, M.D., the Department of Nutrition, University of California-Davis, and director of Shaping America’s Youth said: “. . . it seems reasonable to consider--with the ‘obesity plague’ upon us and Americans arguably less healthy than ever before--whether the guidelines are to be trusted, and even whether they have done more harm than good.”

Paul R. Marantz, M.D., Associate Dean for Clinical Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City said: “[The] possibility that these guidelines might actually be endangering health is at the core of our concern about the way the guidelines are currently developed and issued.”

Nina Teicholz, a journalist with a Master’s degree from Oxford University and best-selling author of “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Health Diet”said: “The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee did not follow any systematic methodology for reviewing the scientific literature, [did] not review the preponderance of the evidence, nor the best and most current science on . . . saturated fats and low-carbohydrate diets. The public has largely followed the Dietary Guidelines for the past 35 years, while at the same time suffering increased rates of diabetes and obesity. This observation does not imply that the Guidelines have caused ill-health, but it almost certainly implies that they have failed to prevent it.”

Why is it that seemingly reputable scientists fail to rigorously review the research and even worse, fail to account for the disastrous results of 35-plus years of telling Americans to avoid fat while eating vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and soy and counting calories? Why do they disparage meat generally and recommend lean meat without defining what it is? Why do they ignore the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio? Why do they recommend foods extremely high in Omega-6 fatty acids?

Sarah Hallberg, D.O, Medical Director and Founder of the Indiana University-Arnett Health Medical Weight Loss Program commented in an interview that: “Even though [the committee] has experts and scientists, for them to reverse their previous advice, they would have to admit they were wrong. It is very difficult for anyone in those positions to back down.”

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, Eighth Edition

Science Links