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New dietary guidelines adjusts daily serving of grains
Source: Bakingbusiness.com, May 28, 2004
by Josh Sosland
WASHINGTON - Americans should choose a variety of foods from among the basic food groups while not exceeding daily calorie limits, a committee reviewing U.S. dietary guidelines suggested late Thursday.
Those and number of other guiding principles likely will shape the 2005 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee met this week in Washington, D.C., and worked toward reaching consensus on recommended changes for the new edition. The committee has no regulatory power to initiate changes in the actual guidelines; it serves only to make recommendations.
The most troubling development in the proceedings for grain-based foods was the committee's tentative agreement to reduce recommended servings of grain-based food by one serving per day to five to 10 servings. The change intends to accommodate, in calorie-neutral fashion, an increase in recommended intake of milk and fruits/vegetables by one serving per day.
Reducing the grains servings recommendation also would help the committee reach an intended objective of reducing sodium intake.
Other recommendations preliminarily agreed upon by the committee include:
Be physically active everyday and monitor body weight to achieve health;
Increase intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains and nonfat and lowfat milk and milk products;
Decrease intake of saturated and trans fats and cholesterol while increasing foods high in omega -3 fatty acids (fish);
Choose and prepare foods with less salt;
If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation; and
Keep food safe to eat.
The 2000 edition of the guidelines also includes several of these principles. But one guiding principle featured in the earlier edition that apparently may be omitted in the 2005 edition states, "Choose a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains."
The committee plans to meet Aug. 11, 2004 for a one-day, follow-up meeting.
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