Every five years the U.S. government is required by federal law to  update its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and today was the big day when the latest update was released. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans* call for us to “whenever possible, replace refined grains with whole grains.”

The overall recommendation for whole grain consumption remains the same: Make at least half your grains whole. That’s the same guidance as in 2005, when the Dietary Guidelines were last updated. But there’s a twist this time. The new Guidelines put a big emphasis on switching to healthier eating, by expliciting calling on people to reduce their consumption of refined grains, to make room in their diets for more whole grains.

We’re also pleased to see the Dietary Guidelines give more specifics on what counts as a whole grain food, with an official nod to the Whole Grains Council’s approach of labeling grains with the number of grams of whole grain content, with a minimum whole grain content at least half a serving (8g) of whole grain ingredients. Here’s what they say:

Many grain foods contain both whole grains and refined grains. These foods also can help people meet the whole grain recommendation, especially if a considerable proportion of the grain ingredients is whole grains. For example, foods with at least 51 percent of the total weight as whole-grain ingredients contain a substantial amount of whole grains. Another example is foods with at least 8 grams of whole grains per ounce-equivalent. Some product labels show the whole grains health claim, or the grams of whole grain in the product. This information may help people identify food choices that have a substantial amount of whole grains.

It’s kinda cool to realize that the responsible standard that Oldways and the Whole Grains Council have helped to establish nationwide has now become officially part of the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. There is much rejoicing here at our whole grains conference, where the timing is great for acknowledging whole grains as the new norm. (Cindy)

* Yes, we noticed it’s January 31, 2011. But even though the government didn’t quite make the deadline, they’re called the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.