AMSA Resources
In February Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC)) released their recommendations for the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The Advisory report concluded that, “The overall body of evidence examined by the 2015 DGAC identifies that a healthy dietary pattern is higher in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low- or non-fat dairy, seafood, legumes, and nuts; moderate in alcohol (among adults); lower in red and processed meat1; and low in sugar sweetened foods and drinks and refined grains.”
AMSA appreciates the agencies’ important role in developing nutritional recommendations for Americans, as well as the time the DGAC spent reviewing the scientific evidence on healthy dietary patterns. Our primary concern with the report is that the DGAC meat-related recommendations do not reflect the totality of evidence on meat’s role in health. That this Committee’s recommendations directly contradict the 2010 DGAC’s Report and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 are also concerning. In 2010, the DGA, which is the federal nutritional policy, encouraged increased consumption of lean meat and poultry. Since 2010, additional strong evidence has emerged that further supports this recommendation.
Taking into account the full body of evidence, it is our conclusion that any dietary guidelines should include meat and poultry as part of a healthy diet and should not discourage consumption of meat and poultry, including red and processed meats.
AMSA has submitted our full comments and references in regards to this report as we ask the DGAC to do a comprehensive reevaluation of the evidence on the role of meat and poultry in healthy dietary patterns.
AMSA’s full comments and resources can be found below, please feel free to use this information in preparing your comments and/or support of AMSA’s comments regarding the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report. If you have any questions please contact Deidrea Mabry, 773-913-2021.
1 As lean meats were not consistently defined or handled similarly between studies, they were not identified as a common characteristic across the reviews. However, as demonstrated in the food pattern modeling of the Healthy U.S.-style and Healthy Mediterranean-style patterns, lean meats can be a part of a healthy dietary pattern.