Every five years, the US Department of Agriculture will issue a dietary guideline for Americans. One can go to www.health.gov to see the latest one for 2015-2020. There are five executive summaries and they are reasonable but very general. Among them are the following: Shift to healthier food and beverage choices. Support healthy eating patterns for all. Everyone has a role in helping to create and support healthy eating patterns in multiple settings nationwide, from home to school to work to communities.
The devil is in the details. What exactly is healthy eating patterns for all? In 2008, the medical costs linked to obesity is about 147 billion dollars. In 2012, the total estimated cost for diagnosed diabetes is 245 billion dollars. An estimated 87% Americans are over-weight. This group are likely to have HgA1c over 5.7 , are insulin resistant and will develop diabetes eventually. The magnitude is so serious that we have to look for ways to reverse this trend.
The details can be found in this guidelines for healthy US-style eating pattern. For a 1600 daily calories diet, they recommend 58% ( 932 calories ) from carbohydrates. The list as follows:
Starchy vegetables – 4 cups per week ( 39 g of carb per day )
Fruits – 1 1/2 cups per day ( 56 g of carb per day )
Grains – 5 oz per day ( 58 g of carb per day )
Dairy – 3 cups per day ( 40 g of carb per day )
Added sugar ( average no more than 10 % daily calories ) – 40 g of carb per day
Total carbohydrate by weight = 233 gm ( 932 calories ) per day = 58% daily calories
For the past three years, I have recommended my clients to consumer 5-10% of daily calories from carbohydrates for health and weight control. It can be accomplished easily by the following adjustments:
Eliminate starchy vegetables ( potatoes , etc. )
Eat small quantities of berries, avoid sweet fruits.
Avoid grains, substitute with cauliflower rice , almond flour and coconut flour.
Substitute dairy with cheese and cream cheese.
Substitute white sugar with erythritol / monk fruit sweetener.
I have seen improvement in health, blood glucose level, and weight control by the above simple adjustments. More details can be found in my Zoom and Youtube channels for longevity and happiness.
