Diet Science

Three decades ago a team of independent nutrition experts was recruited by the USDA to create the first Food Guide Pyramid published in 1992 to help Americans get healthier. But, the USDA caved to food industry interests and modified the experts' recommendations, and have never taken a clear stance against processed foods. As a result, Americans are less healthy than they were 30 years ago. Listen in this week as Dee discusses a promising change that may be coming in 2025 as the food guidelines committee is finally examining the science on obesity and ultra-processed foods.Reference:Hess, J. M., Comeau, M. E., Casperson, S., Slavin, J. L., Johnson, G. H., Messina, M., Raatz, S., Scheett, A. J., Bodensteiner, A., & Palmer, D. G. (2023). Dietary guidelines meet nova: Developing a menu for a healthy dietary pattern using ultra-processed foods. The Journal of Nutrition, 153(8), 2472–2481. https://jn.nutrition.org/article/S0022-3166(23)72434-6/fulltext