More Inclusive & Usable Guidelines. 

Every 5 years the US Dept of Health & Human Services along with the Dept of Agriculture (USDA) are required to publish a new “Dietary Guidelines for Americans”. The 2020-2025 Edition is out and I am giving you all a shortened version of the 164 page document.

There were some changes made this year that makes this more usable and applicable than previous years’ editions. For instance it now includes people who have chronic diseases and/or are at risk for chronic diseases – for instance cancer, obesity, and heart disease. They also have changed their focus to “dietary-patterns” which makes it much more flexible for people who eat according to cultural, geographic, taste-preferences, or budgets.

Lastly, they have changed it to be more responsive to lifespans and where you are in your individual lifespan. What this means is that the dietary patterns are applicable and vary from infant through to old age. The Guidelines are split into 4 different guidelines which much detail in each in the full report. The Executive Summary gives a high level description of each which is helpful so you know where to look for what’s interesting to you.

You can find the full report as well as the Executive Summary at DietaryGuidelines.gov