Nutrition News

In honor of the impending weekend, and a few thoughts I have been meaning to put on here for your reading enjoyment, I have two things for you today.

First and Foremost: The research was compiled and after much debate the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were release January 31, 2011. Yes, something that was supposed to be out in 2010 was released in 2011 by the federal government. Shocking. To be fair, it has taken me two weeks to post a blog about them.

For those of you who are not familiar with the DGA, these guidelines are what gives us the basis for the Food Guide Pyramid. Without further ado, here are some key points for you to think about when making food choices.

Foods and Food Components to Reduce:
-Reduce Sodium to 2,300 mg or less per day.
- Keep saturated fat intake to less than 10% of total calories.
- Keep trans fats as low as possible.
- Reduce intake of solid fats and added sugars

Food and Food Components to Increase:
- Increase intake of fruit, vegetable and whole grains.
- Increase intake of non-fat and low-fat milk and dairy products.
- Increase the amount and variety of seafood in your diet.
- Use oils to replace solid fats.

For more information, visit the USDA website link above.

Next up, March is National Nutrition Month. In honor of it I am going to try out a new diet each week of March. For weeks one and two I am going on a couple nutrition therapy diets. These diets are the DASH diet, used to treat hypertension, and Gluten-Free Diet, used to treat Celiac's Disease. I am doing these to have a better idea of the types of diets I may one day be recommending for my clients/ patients.

I am also going to try a couple lifestyle diets that are gaining popularity. For this portion of my experiment I will be Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian and Vegan. For both of these diets I will be following the USDA Food Patterns recommended in the 2010 DGA. I am trying these diets to get a better sense of what it is like trying to follow these diets. It has been noted, although it is antidotal evidence, that vegan-ism does have some implications on rheumatoid arthritis.

Each one of these diets presents a challenge for me. Let's face it, I'm a Sconnie Girl through and through. But just because someone is diagnosed with Celiac's doesn't mean they leave the state. I'm just going to have to be resourceful and mindful of my food choices. My goal is to go out to eat at least once a week because people on these diets aren't hermits, or at least the majority of them aren't. My intention is to update my blog at least weekly with my insights about each of these diets. Maybe I'll post a few recipes on here too.