Make Every Bite Count

USDA, HHS release Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

Nutrition in America took a major step at the end of December with the publication of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

Jointly published by the USDA and Health and Human Services (HHS) every five years, the guidelines provide science-based recommendations designed to foster healthy dietary patterns for Americans of all ages — from birth through older adults. Importantly, this edition expands the guidance, for the first time including recommended healthy dietary patterns for infants and toddlers.

“At USDA and HHS, we work to serve the American people — to help every American thrive and live healthier lives through access to healthy foods and providing nutrition recommendations,” says U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “With the release of the dietary guidelines, we have taken the very important step to provide nutrition guidance that can help all Americans lead healthier lives by making every bite count.”

Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the nation’s trusted resource for evidence-based nutrition guidance. The guidelines are designed for use by healthcare professionals and policy makers for outreach to the general public and provide the nutritional foundation for federal nutrition programs. The dietary guidelines should not be considered clinical guidelines for the treatment of disease.

“The science tells us that good nutrition leads to better health outcomes, and the new dietary guidelines use the best available evidence to give Americans the information they need to make healthy decisions for themselves and their families,” says HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “USDA and HHS have expanded this edition of the dietary guidelines to provide new guidance for infants, toddlers, and pregnant and breastfeeding women, helping all Americans to improve their health, no matter their age or life stage.”

As always, the new guidelines build on the previous editions and were informed by the scientific report developed by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, along with comments from the public and input from federal agencies. The committee worked for 15 months to provide the departments with a comprehensive scientific review and proposal of overarching recommendations, a highly regarded step of critical importance in dietary guidelines development. USDA and HHS also made transparency a priority in this edition and appreciate the many public comments that were received throughout this process.

This release provides the public with the most up-to-date evidence on dietary behaviors that promote health and may help prevent chronic disease. The key recommendations look similar to those of the past and address two topics that garnered much attention throughout the development of the guidelines — added sugars and alcoholic beverages. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 carried forward the committee’s emphasis on limiting these dietary components, but did not include changes to quantitative recommendations, as there was not a preponderance of evidence in the material the committee reviewed to support specific changes, as required by law. As in previous editions, limited intake of these two food components is encouraged. In fact, this sentiment remains prominent throughout the policy document and complements the four overarching guidelines, which encourage Americans to “Make Every Bite Count” by the following.

• Following a healthy dietary pattern at every life stage.
• Customizing and enjoying nutrient-dense food and beverage choices to reflect personal preferences, cultural traditions and budgetary considerations.
• Focusing on meeting food group needs with nutrient-dense foods and beverages from five food groups — vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy and fortified soy alternatives, and proteins — and staying within calorie limits.
• Limiting foods and beverages higher in added sugars, saturated fat and sodium, and limiting alcoholic beverages.

For consumers, USDA’s MyPlate translates and packages these principles of dietary guidance for Americans in a way that is handy and accessible. For more information, visit www.myplate.gov.

Beef group says guidelines solidifies the benefits of beef
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) commends the USDA and the HHS for finalizing the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), which recognizes the role of lean beef in a healthy diet across all life stages and ages.

“Beef is one of Americans’ favorite foods, and science consistently shows lean beef can be the cornerstone in a variety of healthy diets,” says NCBA President Marty Smith. “Now more than ever, the key to proper nutrition is giving people practical and realistic advice, to help create balanced diets that work for them — featuring foods they love, like beef, which pairs perfectly with other nutrient-rich foods,”

The DGAs emphasized the importance of making every bite count by choosing nutrient-rich foods most often; that is easy to do with beef. No other protein food delivers the same nutrient-rich package as beef in about 170 calories, on average, per 3-ounce serving of cooked beef. Beef is a good source of 10 essential nutrients — including high-quality protein, iron, zinc, and choline — with more than 30 lean cuts.

“U.S. cattle producers appreciate the work of the committee, USDA and HHS on their sole focus on nutrition and science-based research to put together a set of recommendations that will benefit all Americans,” Smith says.

Editor’s note: This article is compiled from releases by the USDA and NCBA.