My Nutrition and Fitness Plan

Thursday, February 3, 2011

USDA Has New Guidelines

USDA came out with new guidelines on Monday lowering the recommended salt intake amount but not all are created equal, an article by CNN Health says. This new guideline is targeted at African-American, people over the age of 51, and people who have diabetes, kidney problems, and those with a history of hypertension. Their salt intake is slightly over half of a teaspoon where as for everyone else it has remained at about a teaspoon of salt.

Cutting back on salt may be difficult for most since salt content is high in processed foods and pre-packaged foods the article states. The article suggests cooking at home in order to cut back on the salt is something doable for most if not all Americans.

"The new guidelines recognize that obesity is the No. 1 public health nutrition problem in America and actually gives good advice about what to do about it: eat less and eat better," said Marion Nestle, a professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University said to CNN.

The amount of alcohol was changed to one drink a day for women and two a day for men.

The article said that we need to reduce our intake of calories from solid fats and added sugars and also cut back on refined grains.

CNN stated in their article “That for the first time, the guidelines make it clear that eating less is a priority.”

Chanelle Jepson

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/31/dietary.guildelines/index.html

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