USDA 2010 dietary guidelines released

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, unveiled today, highlight the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets, drawing praise from nutrition experts at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The new Guidelines go farther than previous federal policies in acknowledging the power of plant-based diets for health.

The Dietary Guidelines—issued by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services every five years—are the blueprint for all federal nutrition programs, including school meals. The new Guidelines devote two full pages to vegetarian and vegan nutrition, and point out that these eating patterns provide nutritional advantages and reduce obesity, heart disease, and overall mortality. Vegetarian diets may include dairy products and eggs, while vegan diets avoid all animal products.

~ www.pcrm.org, New Dietary Guidelines Back Plant-Based Diets to Fight Obesity

 

There are vast improvements in the new dietary guidelines, but they still fall short in recommending eating less of certain foods. And in the 95-page document, there is no simple chart to help guide people in choosing what to eat.

We offer a couple of alternatives *

The Power Plate (from PCRM) is a vegan "Basic 4″ guide to a variety of plant-based foods.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid was develped by Dr. Walter Willett and the Harvard School of Public Health. It's not totally THM-friendly, but it's easily adaptable.