The guidelines were reported in my local paper as front page news this morning. In that cursory overview, I was surprised to find so little reference to "healthy whole grains" or any guidance for reducing starches in the diet.
The writer of this article (Melissa Healy, LA Times) described the so-called Mediterranean diet as one "which emphasizes consumption of copious fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes drenched in such fat sources as olive, nut, soybean, and sunflower oils." Hmmm. "drenched" isn't the word I'd use. It sounds not just unhealthy but icky!
Is there a discussion in the Guidelines about reducing snacks, "junk food" and other popular sources of salt, sugar, and calories? In any case, I'm glad that cholesterol has been demoted as a life-threatening scare in the food we eat.
[Edit: Now I've read the two links posted by Janet above. I see that we're dealing with weasel-y language, not helpful information, in these "guidelines." I guess "Don't eat crap" doesn't sound official enough.
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Unfortunately, the only "health" group cited in this article is The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which has filed suit against the USDA, Dept. of Health and Human Services--presumably for promoting a killer diet (especially eggs) in the guidelines. But doesn't the title of that group sound noble??
As always,
caveat emptor. Buyer beware.