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What are the dietary guidelines for Americans?

The dietary guidelines for Americans are issued jointly by the Federal Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and are intended to provide a sound basis for both public and consumer nutritional programs. The first set of guidelines was issued in 1980, and have been revised twice since then, most recently in November, 1990.

The original guidelines grew out of the 1977 Senate hearings on the role of diet in health. These hearings pointed to the lack of a unified policy on nutrition standards and advice. Thus, the guidelines were created to fill this void.

Given the widespread public confusion about nutrition and the abundance of conflicting advice, the official guidelines are brief and deceptively simple. As their introduction notes: "Hardly a day goes by without someone trying to tell us what we should and should not eat . . . Unfortunately, much of it is confusing."

When should I use the dietary guidelines?
The guidelines should be used to develop a lifelong, healthful eating program. They can help you decide which foods to choose and how to prepare them.

Who provides the dietary guidelines?
The guidelines are based on recommendations of a special advisory committee headed by leading nutrition scientists. Committee members are selected by officials of the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services.

What should I expect of the dietary guidelines?

The guidelines provide the broad framework for a healthful diet. They are in tended for healthy people and do not address special dietary needs of people with nutrition-related disorders such as diabetes.

What should be expected of me?

Under each major heading, the guidelines offer suggestions for implementing a healthful eating

program. These suggestions include:

Eat a variety of foods. Remember that no single food provides all the essential nutrients.

Plan a diet that includes recommended servings from the 5 food pyramid groups (see illustration). Avoid large-dose vitamin or mineral supplements
unless they are needed for a deficiency.

Maintain healthy weight.

If you need to lose weight, avoid crash or fad diets. Instead, reduce calories and increase exercise to produce a steady loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week.

Eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains while reducing intake of fatty foods, sweets, and alcoholic beverages.

Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

Choose lean meat, fish, poultry dry beans, and peas as protein sources.

Use skim or low-fat milk and milk products.

Limit intake of fats and oils, especially saturated fats such as butter, lard, shortening, and foods containing palm or coconut oils.

Choose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products.

About 60 percent of total calories should come from

carbohydrates, with emphasis on grains and other starchy foods.

Increase fiber intake by including whole-grain products and raw or lightly processed fruits and vegetables.

Use sugars only in moderation.

Cut back on added sugar or sweeteners such as honey and syrups.

Read labels for clues on sugar content. If sugar, a syrup, sucrose, or another ingredient ending in -ose appears first or second, it's safe to assume the
product is high in sugar.

Use salt and sodium only in moderation.

Substitute herbs and other flavorings for salt.

Cook with little or no salt and remove the saltshaker from the table.

Limit intake of salty snacks.

Check food labels.

If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

Pregnant women should abstain from all alcohol.

Healthy adults should limit intake to 1 (for women) or 2 (for men) standard size drinks a day.

Do not drive after drinking any alcohol.

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