January 22, 2016 – Dietary Guidelines

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Anchor lead:  New dietary guidelines have been released by the federal government, Elizabeth Tracey reports

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture have released their new dietary guidelines for Americans, and much of the advice remains familiar: limit calories, choose a wide variety of foods, opt for fresh vegetables and fruits.  Redonda Miller, an internal medicine expert at Johns Hopkins, says a couple of recommendations do stand out.

Miller:  While most of these recommendations from these new dietary guidelines may not be surprising to many, there are a couple worth highlighting. For the first time the guidelines mention that coffee is okay. Moderate coffee consumption can be incorporated into healthy eating habits.  They also give caution about protein foods, and give guidance on excluding processed meats and poultry from your diet because those can raise your risk of heart disease.   :27

Miller notes that increasing evidence points to the critical role diet plays in avoidance of many diseases, so paying attention to the guidelines is a great prevention strategy.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.