In February, 2018 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new step in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) development process. Did I hear this right?? For the first time, they are seeking public comments on the proposed priority topics and supporting scientific questions that will guide the development of the upcoming 2020-2025 edition of the DGA. These comments may be submitted through the Federal Register. The comment period will be open until March 30, 2018.
According to the USDA, “The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) serves as the cornerstone of federal nutrition programs and policies, providing food-based recommendations to help prevent diet-related chronic diseases and promote overall health.” According to the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990, the DGA is mandated to reflect the preponderance of scientific evidence, and is published jointly by the USDA and HHS every five years.
If you are reading this then you are most likely aware that the many parts of the current guidelines absolutely do not ‘reflect the preponderance of scientific evidence’. What they do reflect is political, corporate and pharmaceutical influence of epic proportions. For the first time, however, we now have a public comment stage at the beginning of the multiyear DGA development process. Since two of the topics up for review are “saturated fats” and “low-carbohydrate diets”, input from our community will be invaluable.
The USDA claims this process will help maintain integrity and transparency in communicating the topics that meet the priorities of federal nutrition programs. My opinion is that, at least for this round, the input from the public will again be squashed by the political and corporate pressure. We also have to accept that our voice may still be in the minority. But, for the first time, we have a say. We have a vote. And if we have a vote, even if we know we are in the minority, we MUST vote. In the end, our voice will prevail.
You can have your say here. Nina Teicholz wrote up some guidelines for submitting your input. If you want to hear about the latest science on these issues, join us at one of our events.
[Doug Reynolds: Founder – LowCarbUSA®]
