The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) submitted its Advisory Report to the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The report provides a review of scientific evidence related to diet, nutrition and health that will inform the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will be released later this year. These guidelines are quite affective and have an impact on important matters such as what’s in your child’s school lunch, dietary advice given by almost all doctors and nutritionist in the country, and how companies can advertise their products.
The report, which is over 500 pages long, reviews everything from balancing calories with physical activity to specific dietary guidelines for pregnant women. However, there is one page that is catching everyones attention.
Cholesterol.
“The Committee has chosen to not bring forward its historical recommendation to limit cholesterol intake to 300 mg/day, having found no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol during its review of the relevant research. The Committee has determined that cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption.”
Cholesterol has played a big role in dietary restrictions and guidelines since the American Heart Association published information about it over 50 years ago. Since then, it’s been ingrained in our heads that consuming foods with high amounts of cholesterol is bad. With so many diets based around the principal of lowering cholesterol intake for heart health, this new guideline is going to come as a shock to many Americans. It also has the potential for typical red flag foods such as eggs, lobster and ground meat, to have a major come back in our kitchens.
Eggs are listed along with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and nuts as “nutrient-dense foods,” or “foods that are naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, and other substances that may have positive health effects, and are lean or low in solid fats and without added solid fats, sugars, starches, or sodium and that retain naturally-occurring components such as fiber.”
So raise your whisks and get cracking! Cheers to another reason to love the incredible edible egg!
Want to learn more?
Read these highlights in a recent blog post provided by The American Heart Association:
