2015 Dietary Guidelines: Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peas

Earlier this year, the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its recommendations. These recommendations are currently under federal review, with a modified version passing into law later in the year. The comment period—in which medical professionals, food industry representatives, and concerned citizens submit their feedback regarding the recommendations—ends this Friday. This is our last chance to make our voices heard!

In a previous blog, I broke down the basic good and bad points made in the report. But let’s take a look at some of the broader cultural implications:

Lean Meat

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has officially removed its recommendation for Americans to eat lean meat, and solid scientific evidence shows that people who avoid meat are healthier than those who consume it. There is a mounting body of research showing the ill-effects of meat consumption.

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat also took a big hit. At the Physicians Committee, we agree with the Committee’s recommendation to reduce saturated fat consumption, due to the harmful impact on heart health and other diseases. Nearly 90 percent of Americans consume more than the recommended daily limit of saturated fat and added sugar.

Cholesterol

Unfortunately, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee erred in reversing the prior recommendation to limit dietary cholesterol. Physicians Committee doctors have been making a strong case for adjusting the 2015 guidelines to limit cholesterol—and why cholesterol is still a nutrient of concern. Decades of scientific study have linked dietary cholesterol to cardiovascular disease, our country’s number-one cause of death, killing nearly 2,200 Americans daily.Telling Americans that “cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption” is likely to encourage consumption of meat, dairy products, and eggs—foods high in dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. Meat and dairy products are strongly linked to our country’s deadliest epidemics: obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Not only are chronic disease rates rising, but they’re being seen in younger and younger patients.