The 2015 Dietary Guidelines, at long last

Source: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/01/the-2015-dietary-guidelines-at-long-last/

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines are out.

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They are now online in a version that takes up dozens of screens with annoying drop-down boxes.  It’s hard to navigate, and if it’s searchable, I can’t figure out how (OK, it’s searchable but doesn’t work all that well).

First the good news.  These Dietary Guidelines—for the first time—attempt to focus on foods and dietary patterns:

Previous editions of the Dietary Guidelines focused primarily on individual dietary components such as food groups and nutrients. However, people do not eat food groups and nutrients in isolation but rather in combination, and the totality of the diet forms an overall eating pattern.

They almost succeed in this mission.  The Guidelines say:

Follow a healthy eating pattern across the lifespan [Pattern].
Focus on variety, nutrient density, and amount [Pattern].
Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats and reduce sodium intake [Oops: Nutrients].
Shift to healthier food and beverage choices [Pattern].
Support healthy eating patterns for all [Pattern].

A healthy eating pattern, they say:

Includes foods from various groups [Pattern].
Limits saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars, and sodium [Oops: Nutrients].

As for (Oops) Nutrients:

What do you think?

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