The USDA releases updates to their recommendations for daily food and nutritional requirements every five years. That could seem like a very short turnover for a human body that essentially hasn’t changed in, oh, hundreds of thousands of years.
However, the food industry certainly has changed! (In that, primarily, a food INDUSTRY exists.)
This year the recommendations will soon be accompanied by several additional tips that are good to adopt into your daily life today. I’m sure a lot of them look familiar:
– Enjoy your food, but eat less.
– Avoid oversized portions.
– Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
– Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
– Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals – and choose the foods with lower numbers.
– Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
Many of us with either type one or type two diabetes will recognize these ideas. I’m sure most of us have already adopted them without specific thinking—we know diabetes and regular Coke don’t always mix!
I do find it interesting that the Agriculture Secretary and Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services say that the new recommendations now “give the information [the public has been lacking] to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity.”
It makes me wonder. How many of us with type one diabetes or type two diabetes feel like we are lacking the information we need about food? How many of us aren’t thoughtful when we make our food choices?
Massive kudos to the USDA and HHS for using specific terminology when it comes to the guide: they specifically say “type two diabetes” and also frame the issue to be one of chronic disease as it relates to weight and physical inactivity. (As an aside, I think the American Diabetes Association could pay attention to this!! It’s okay to separate the two major types of diabetes, and it’s okay to say “overweight” and “obese”. Minor rant on these topics.)
As for me, this is just re-saying the same thing. It’s a great message and essential for everyone’s health, though, so I think it needs to be communicated in as many ways as possible. As a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, I’m here to guide others toward achieving these recommendations in their lives and to help work toward that achievable fitness.
Don’t forget: no one is preaching here, we’re trying to help you get where you know you want to go. Shoot me an email if you could use a little help.
Speaking of a little help, how’s your March challenge coming along? Have you ordered your Road ID yet? The discount code expires on MONDAY. (I said I wasn’t preaching I never said I wasn’t nagging.)
Today my lunch plate was half ice cream and hot fudge. Two food groups that are in direct opposition to fruits and vegetables.