dietary guidelines part 2

In my first dietary guidelines post I wrote about chapter 5 of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report. Today I want to discuss some of the other dietary guideline conclusions the report reaches and how we can use the report’s information to improve our own diets.

The report lists the following food groups as major food groups and suggests that we ensure we consme adequate portions from each group. Vegetarians may not be too happy about that!

fruits

vegetables

grains

milk, yogurt, and cheese

meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts

Personally I steer clear of some of the foods on this list. Having an allergy to dairy products means that I tend to avoid the foods listed in the fourth group above. Recently I have also began cutting down the amount of animal products that I eat. The largescale manufacture of animals for human consumption is putting me off. These foods are also often considered acid foods.

Greater fruit and vegetable consumption, in the region of between 5-13 servings a day is also recommended. Eating a high proportion of fruit and vegetables is associated with a reduction in certain cancers as well as type 2 diabetes. It can also be an important part of weight loss diets.

The report states that blood pressure levels are directly related to salt consumption. Therefore limiting salt intake is to be encouraged. On top of this, a high intake of potassium, of over 4,700 mg/day helps in counteracting the effects of sodium salts. Other positive effects that come from potassium are a reduction in the likelihood of developing kidney stones and decreased bone loss.