How Valid Are The New Dietary Guidelines?
© By Lena Sanchez
Big business makes the world go round in more
ways than you can imagine! How did they affect
the new dietary guidelines?
August ended with the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee's recommendations for the
new 2005 revision of USDA Dietary Guidelines.
This is done every five years and usually is
routinely rubber stamped, but this year some
changes were to be made that was potentially
going to rock the boat of several big
companies. Or at least those companies
perceive that to be the case.
How did the committee arrive at their new
recommendation? Was it really all their
recommendation? What influenced them?
Let's start back nine years ago with a
study done by the Harvard School of Public
Health. Their study included 51,000 nurses.
One of the many findings in that nine year
study was; 700 cases of type 2 diabetes
diagnosed while enrolled in the study.
Those researchers reported that; "Excess
calories and high levels of rapidly
absorbable sugars found in non-diet soft
drinks promote weight gain and a greater
risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In
fact, women who drink one or more soft
drinks per day may have an 80 percent
increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared
to women who pass on this type of beverage."
DUH, who couldn't have known that? Since
this is a foregone conclusion why would
Harvard even include this in the Nurses
study? You'll understand later on.
Harvard also found that the "empty calories"
in a soft drink doesn't cause a feeling of
fullness in the way that food calories do,
therefore promoting a higher calorie and
sugar intake. Another DUH! That has been
known forever!
Then the sugar and soft drink industry
entered the picture and began contradicting
Harvard's findings, as you would expect
them to. I love their reply to those findings;
"Unhealthy lifestyles are to blame for
obesity and diabetes, not soft drink
consumption." Gosh, I thought empty calories
were unhealthy! That's how dumb they perceive
you and me to be!
How does all this enter into the new
dietary guidelines, you ask?
The lobbying efforts from the sugar industry
jumped in with a lobbying effort directed
to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
to contradict the Harvard Study, which caused
a huge impact on the revisions of the
guidelines with a deadlocked committee vote
of 6 to 6 as to whether or not the guidelines
should include a statement about sugar intake
being related to obesity and nutrient deficiency.
Only when three committee members decided to
forsake the lobbying group's recommendations
and think for themselves and listen to the
Harvard researchers did the deadlock end and
the final vote was 9 to 3 in favor of including
a sugar statement. That's how close the big
guns came to controlling our new dietary
guidelines. Big industry puts out billions of
dollars toward changing things in their favor
and not looking out for you or me.
Sadly the new dietary guidelines will be
ignored by the majority and obesity will
continue as the country's sugar and fat habit
continues on. Thanks to the billions spent
on advertising for sugary drinks and fast food.
A sugar habit can be kicked in the behind with
a simply addition of a complete mineral and
chromium to your daily supplements, in most
instances.
Yes, nutrition supplementing is necessary
in this time of history, even if you get
your 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a
day. Read the report sent down in 1936 by
our senate to see why that is so.
If you need help in kicking a sugar habit,
which by the way can be simple to do, ask me
Wishing you total health and long life!
Lena
***Lena Sanchez a happy retired Medical Office
Nurse/Administrator/Consultant who took charge of her life 12
years ago found pain relief and committed to helping others
do the same… Editor of "A Natural Environmental
Health Facts & Your Home Business Coach" Ezines
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Author of Three How-To health building books
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