USDA Dietary Guidelines; Will They Change?

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Angela A Stanton, Ph.D.

USDA Request for Public Comments

The USDA has decided to open its ears by requesting public opinion in the form of comments about very specific areas it will consider for its next dietary guideline, which is due out in 2020. The comment period end on March 30th at midnight Eastern Time. The original invitation and the specifics of what needs to be included can be found here.

Complex Questions!

The questions to be commented on are very specific and detailed: 

Infants and toddlers from birth to 24 months (healthy, full-term infants)

Topic Question(s)
Recommended duration of exclusive human milk or infant formula feeding What is the relationship between the duration of exclusive human milk or infant formula consumption and 1) growth, size, and body composition; 2) food allergies and other atopic allergic diseases; and 3) long-term health outcomes?
Frequency and volume of human milk and/or infant formula feeding What is the relationship between the frequency and volume of human milk and/or infant formula consumption and 1) micronutrient status; and 2) growth, size, and body composition?
Dietary supplements (e.g., iron, vitamin D, vitamin B12) What is the relationship between specific micronutrient supplements for infants fed human milk and/or infant formula and 1) micronutrient status; and 2) growth, size, and body composition?
Complementary foods and beverages*: Timing of introduction, types, and amounts

*Beverages (cow’s milk, water, 100% fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages, milk alternatives)

 What is the relationship between complementary feeding and 1) micronutrient status; 2) growth, size, and body composition; 3) developmental milestones; 4) food allergies and other atopic allergic disease; and 5) bone health?

What is the relationship between complementary feeding, including foods and beverages, and achieving nutrient and food group recommendations of infants and toddlers?

Note: Evidence related to dietary patterns (including beverage patterns) consumed during the complementary feeding period will be considered as part of these questions.

Children and adolescents, ages 2-18 years old (with data reviewed by age group)

Topic Question(s)
Dietary patterns to promote health and normal growth and meet nutrient needs What is the relationship between specific dietary patterns (Dietary Guidelines-related, Mediterranean-style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), vegetarian/vegan, and low-carbohydrate diets) consumed during childhood and adolescence and 1) growth, size, and body composition; and 2) bone health?

Are changes to the USDA Food Patterns needed based on the relationships identified? If so, how well do USDA Food Pattern variations meet nutrient recommendations for children and adolescents?
Beverages (cow’s milk, water, 100% fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages, milk alternatives, caffeinated beverages) What is the relationship between beverage consumption during childhood and adolescence and achieving nutrient and food group recommendations?
Added sugars What is the relationship between added sugars consumption during childhood and adolescence and achieving nutrient and food group recommendations?

How much added sugars can be accommodated in a healthy diet during childhood and adolescence while still meeting food group and nutrient needs?

Adults, ages 19-64 years old (with data reviewed by age group)

Topic Question(s)
Dietary patterns to promote health, prevent disease, and meet nutrient needs What is the relationship between specific dietary patterns (Dietary Guidelines-related, Mediterranean-style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), vegetarian/vegan, and low-carbohydrate diets) consumed during adulthood and 1) body weight or obesity; 2) risk of cardiovascular disease; 3) risk of type 2 diabetes; and 4) risk of certain types of cancer?

Are changes to the USDA Food Patterns needed based on the relationships identified? If so, how well do USDA Food Pattern variations meet nutrient recommendations for adults?
Beverages (cow’s milk, water, 100% fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages, milk alternatives, caffeinated beverages) What is the relationship between beverage consumption during adulthood and achieving nutrient and food group recommendations?
Added sugars What is the relationship between added sugars consumption during adulthood and achieving nutrient and food group recommendations?

How much added sugars can be accommodated in a healthy diet during adulthood while still meeting food group and nutrient needs?
Saturated fats What is the relationship between saturated fats consumption (types and amounts) during adulthood and risk of cardiovascular disease?

Pregnancy and lactation

Topic Question(s)
How additional calorie needs should be met during pregnancy and lactation What is the relationship between specific dietary patterns (Dietary Guidelines-related, Mediterranean-style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), vegetarian/vegan, and low-carbohydrate diets) consumed among women who are pregnant and 1) risk of gestational diabetes; 2) risk of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy; 3) gestational age at birth; and 4) birth weight standardized for gestational age and sex?

What is the relationship between specific dietary patterns (Dietary Guidelines-related, Mediterranean-style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), vegetarian/vegan, and low-carbohydrate diets) consumed among women who are lactating and human milk composition and quantity?

Are changes to the USDA Food Patterns needed based on the relationships identified? If so, how well do USDA Food Pattern variations meet nutrient recommendations for women who are pregnant or lactating?
Dietary supplements (e.g., iron, folate, vitamin D) What is the relationship between micronutrient supplements consumed during pregnancy and lactation and 1) micronutrient status; 2) birth outcomes; and 3) human milk composition and quantity?
Diet during pregnancy and lactation and risk of food allergy in the infant What is the relationship between maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation and risk of infant allergies and other atopic allergic disease?
Seafood What is the relationship between seafood consumption during pregnancy and lactation and neurocognitive development of the infant?
Beverages (cow’s milk, water, 100% fruit juice, sugar-sweetened beverages, milk alternatives, caffeinated beverages) What is the relationship between beverage consumption during pregnancy and lactation and 1) achieving nutrient and food group recommendations; 2) birth outcomes; and 3) human milk composition and quantity?
Alcoholic beverages What is the relationship between maternal alcohol consumption during lactation and human milk composition and quantity?

Older adults, ages 65 years and older (with data reviewed by age group)

Topic Question(s)
Dietary patterns to promote health, prevent disease, and meet nutrient needs What is the relationship between specific dietary patterns (Dietary Guidelines-related, Mediterranean-style, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), vegetarian/vegan, and low-carbohydrate diets) consumed across the lifespan and 1) body weight or obesity; 2) risk of cardiovascular disease; 3) risk of type 2 diabetes; 4) risk of certain types of cancer; and 5) risk of osteoporosis?

What modifications to dietary patterns are effective in preventing or reversing declines in muscle mass or bone density in older adults?

Are changes to the USDA Food Patterns needed based on the relationships identified? If so, how well do USDA Food Pattern variations meet nutrient recommendations for older adults, age 65-80 years and those age 81+ years?
Specific nutritional needs related to older adults What modifications to food and beverage choices promote meeting nutrient needs in older adults with impaired dentition, dry mouth, or other aspects of aging that interfere with food and beverage consumption?

My Comment

I submitted my comment, which you are welcome to read–the comment window contains only my cover page. The actual comment is an attachment. I hope you will agree with what I commented and will post a similar comment yourself. Only 10 days left to put in a comment! Let them hear your voice! We have no idea if our voices will be heard or not but if we do nothing, we can only lose! By commenting, we can only win. 

So go for it! Feel free to ask me. Commenting here is always welcomed but is monitored for appropriateness.

Angela

About Angela A Stanton, Ph.D.

Angela A Stanton, PhD, is a Neuroeconomist focusing on chronic pain--migraine in particular--physiology, electrolyte homeostasis, nutrition, and genetics. She lives in Southern California. Her current research is focused on migraine cause, prevention, and treatment without the use of medicine. As a forever migraineur from childhood, her discovery was helped by experimenting on herself. She found the cause of migraine to be at the ionic level, associated with disruption of the electrolyte homeostasis, resulting from genetic variations of all voltage dependent channels, gates, and pumps (chanelopathy) that modulate electrolyte mineral density and voltage in the brain. In addition, insulin and glucose transporters, and several other variants, such as MTHFR variants of B vitamin methylation process and many others are different in the case of a migraineur from the general population. Migraineurs are glucose sensitive (carbohydrate intolerant) and should avoid eating carbs as much as possible. She is working on her hypothesis that migraine is a metabolic disease. As a result of the success of the first edition of her book and her helping over 5000 migraineurs successfully prevent their migraines world wide, all ages and both genders, and all types of migraines, she published the 2nd (extended) edition of her migraine book "Fighting The Migraine Epidemic: Complete Guide: How To Treat & Prevent Migraines Without Medications". The 2nd edition is the “holy grail” of migraine cause, development, and prevention, incorporating all there is to know. It includes a long section for medical and research professionals. The book is full of academic citations (over 800) to authenticate the statements she makes to make it easy to follow up by those interested and to spark further research interest. It is a "Complete Guide", published on September 29, 2017. Dr. Stanton received her BSc at UCLA in Mathematics, MBA at UCR, MS in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University, PhD in Economics with dissertation in neuroscience (culminating in Neuroeconomics) at Claremont Graduate University, fMRI certification at Harvard University Medical School at the Martinos Center for Neuroimaging for experimenting with neurotransmitters on human volunteers, certification in LCHF/ketogenic diet from NN (Nutrition Network), certification in physiology (UPEN via Coursea), Nutrition (Harvard Shool of Public Health) and functional medicine studies. Dr. Stanton is an avid sports fan, currently power weight lifting and kickboxing. For relaxation (yeah.. about a half minute each day), she paints and photographs and loves to spend time with her family of husband of 45 years, 2 sons and their wives, and 2 granddaughters. Follow her on Twitter at: @MigraineBook, LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelaastantonphd/ and facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DrAngelaAStanton/
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