Thursday, January 7, 2016

Finalized dietary guidelines released

The meat lobby appears to have won a major victory in the the final set of dietary recommendations from the United States Department of Health and Human Services released Thursday.

There is no change from 2010 in the recommended volume of meat people should eat. Earlier proposals called for sharp reductions.

But the government does say that men and boys ought to eat less meat and more vegetables.

And it repeats advice to include a wide variety of foods to achieve a healthy diet.

It also says that eating more than the recommended volumes of meat increases the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

A World Health Organization report a few months ago warned that eating meat increases the risk of cancer, especially processed meats such as bacon and barbecued meats because of the high temperatures involved.


Here’s what the report said, in part, about meat:


“Strong evidence from mostly prospective cohort studies but also randomized controlled trials has shown that eating patterns that include lower intake of meats as well as processed meats and processed poultry are associated with reduced risk of CVD (cardiovascular disease) in adults. Moderate evidence indicates that these eating patterns are associated with reduced risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer in adults. As described earlier, eating patterns consist of multiple, interacting food components, and the relationships to health exist for the overall eating pattern, not necessarily to an isolated aspect of the diet. Much of this research on eating patterns has grouped together all meats and poultry, regardless of fat content or processing, though some evidence has identified lean meats and lean poultry in healthy eating patterns. In separate analyses, food pattern modeling has demonstrated that lean meats and lean poultry can contribute important nutrients within limits for sodium, calories from saturated fats and added sugars, and total calories when consumed in recommended amounts in healthy eating patterns, such as the Healthy U.S.-Style and Mediterranean-Style Eating Patterns.”