The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released new dietary guidelines Thursday recommending that individuals follow a healthy eating pattern that includes vegetables, whole fruits, grains, low-fat dairy, proteins and oils.
The 2015 to 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans differs from the 2010 version in that it does not focus on food groups and nutrients, but instead on the overall diet. It emphasizes the importance of adjusting eating patterns to lower the risk for chronic diseases and achieve better health.
"We want to make things easier and simpler for consumers," HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell told NBC News. "One of the things we are steering people to is small changes."
One recommendation that was not included in the 2010 guidelines was lowering the intake of added sugar to just 10 percent of one's daily calories, which roughly translates to about 200 calories. This move is hoped to encourage people to check the amount of added sugars they consume, such as those from sugary drinks, which comprise 47 percent of all added sugars consumed daily.
"There's a lot of added sugars in beverages," Burwell said.
Surprisingly, the federal government says that eating lean meat is still acceptable, even after a group of experts suggested in February that a diet low in red and processed meats is best. However, the guidelines still emphasize limiting saturated fats to 10 percent of the daily calories, according to ABC News.
Eating eggs is also considered part of a healthy eating pattern. While the previous guidelines limit egg consumption to two per day, the new guidelines removed this limit based on new research that the association between dietary cholesterol and heart disease is not as strong as previously thought.
The guidelines also recommend a daily sodium intake of 2,300 milligrams. In the U.S., people consume up to 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day, an amount that can result in high blood pressure, according to Burwell.
"The things that you need to be careful about are sodium, that added sugar and saturated fat," she said.
