New US Dietary Guidelines Promote Lean Meat but Less Sugar

Every five years, the U.S. government releases a new set of dietary guidelines for all Americans. These guidelines act as a helpful reminder in achieving a balanced diet and a healthier lifestyle that will be far from disease.

The 2015 guidelines recommends that all Americans develop a “healthy eating pattern,” reports CNN. This involves eating more healthier choices while consuming less saturated fat, less sodium and, most of all, a lot less sugar.

These saturated fats, sodium and sugars have been linked to unhealthy conditions and diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease. However, with the guidelines, the government hopes to help Americans make the right choices to build healthy eating patterns that will let them reap benefits over time.

“The Dietary Guidelines provides a clear path for the general public, as well as policy makers and health professionals and others who reach the public, to help Americans make healthy choices, informed by a thoughtful, critical, and transparent review of the scientific evidence on nutrition,” the government said in a press release.

The dietary guidelines recommends to consume just enough amounts of lean meat, but strongly recommends against piling up on added sugars. Here's what you should know about these two things:

Lean Meats

Although the guidelines might sound like it recommends going vegan, that is simply not what it meant. The guidelines are advocating for healthy eating patterns that depend on a person's tastes, needs and budget.

A healthy eating pattern includes protein sources such as lean meats. However, authorities caution consumers to stay away from meats that have high amounts of saturated fats and sodium.

The guidelines recommends loading up on protein from lean meat, poultry and at least a weekly 8-ounce ration of seafood. Boys and men, however, are advised not to take in too much protein.

Consumers are advised to have only 26 ounce-equivalents of lean meat per week based on a U.S. style, 2,000-calorie diet. Vegans can also acquire proteins from soy products, beans, lentils and seeds.

Less Sugars

The government, for the first time, has limited the average American's sugar intake to only 10 percent of the daily calorie intake. This translates to about 50 grams of sugar per day, when based on a 2,000-calorie diet.

To succeed in limiting intakes to this amount, dietician Lisa Drayer suggests substituting sugary items with less-sweet alternatives. She also suggests reading product labels, as sugars found in food comes in many forms including fructose, sucrose, honey or corn syrup.

For more information, you can read the 2015 guidelines here, and the Top 10 Things You Need to Know About the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans here.