On June 15, 2010, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee released its long-awaited “Report on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010,” giving us the first official preview of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which will be released later this year.
Federal law requires that our government update the Dietary Guidelines every five years. The process starts almost two years ahead of the release of the new guidelines, when a group of top nutrition scientists — the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee — begins meeting regularly to review the latest nutrition research and make recommendations for updates. At the end of this process, they sum up their findings. While information in the DGAC report can theoretically be ignored in the actual Dietary Guidelines (the Report is technically not final; there is a 30-day public comment period), in the past the DGAC Report has provided reliable insight into the final Dietary Guidelines.
Six Points of Interest on Whole Grains
In reading the DGAC Report, the Whole Grains Council notes 6 points that may be of special interest to the whole grains community:
1. Increase Whole Grains
The Report says that “Currently most Americans are not consuming adequate amounts of whole grains” and calls for them to “increase their consumption of a variety of vegetables, fruits and fiber-rich whole grains.”
2. Fiber-rich Whole Grains
There is a pattern of using the modifier “fiber-rich” regularly (though not exclusively) with the words whole grains. It’s not clear if this indicates the DGAC’s recommendation to favor only those whole grains high In fiber, or if this terminology is meant as a reminder that whole grains of all types are higher in fiber than refined/enriched versions of the same grains.
3. Decrease Refined Grains
Overall, the Report advises that “Total grain servings are typically over-consumed in the U.S., so recommendations to consume more grains are not supported by this review.” Couple this with an admonition to consume more whole grains, and it’s clear that Americans need to decrease refined/enriched grains.
This conclusion was implicit in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines but is now explicit, in statements such as “Lower intake of refined grains, especially refined grains coupled with added sugar, solid fat, and sodium” and “Components of the American diet consumed in excess are solid fats, added sugars, refined grains, and sodium.”
4. Mix Enriched and Whole Grains
Still, the DGAC acknowledges a role for some non-whole grains when it says “Enriched and fortified grains provide important nutrients; hence, individual are encouraged to consume grains as both fiber-rich whole grains and enriched grains. To ensure nutrient adequacy, especially for folate, individuals who consume all their grains as whole grains should include some that have been fortified with folic acid.” We think this advice corresponds well with the message of the Whole Grains Council: eat some of your grains with the 100% Stamp and some with the Basic Stamp.
5. Carbs are an Important Part of a Good Diet
The DGAC reviewed research on the health benefits and risks of diets with different proportions of carbohydrates, protein, and fat [the three macronutrients], and concluded that “There is strong and consistent evidence that when calorie intake is controlled, macronutrient proportion of the diet is not related to losing weight.” The report also states that low-carb diets may be less safe. In another section, the report says “Healthy diets are high in carbohydrates.”
6. Potatoes are NOT Grains
One final point: Earlier, the DGAC considered moving starchy vegetables to the grain group, and cutting back grain servings as a result. This approach appears to have been dropped: “Although starchy vegetables remain part of the vegetable group in the USDA Food Patterns, this analysis identified an option for flexibility to help some individuals integrate the USDA recommendations with other dietary plans.”
Overall Conclusion: Based on all of these factors, we expect that the actual 2010 Dietary Guidelines will include wording similar to the 2005 Guidelines, i.e. “Make at least half your grains whole.” In fact, another unrelated section of the report referred to this standard, saying, “Whole-grain versions of many grain products (such as plain white bread, rolls, bagels, muffins, pasta, breakfast cereals) should be substituted to meet the recommendation that half of grains consumed be whole grains, also assisting in meeting dietary fiber recommendations.” The report also says explicitly that “Recommended intake amounts in the USDA Food Patterns remain unchanged from 2005 with the exception of the vegetable subgroups.”
The sense we get from listening to hours and hours of committee meetings and reading the report is that the goal is to push for meeting the current goal of 50% or more whole grains, before worrying about any changes!
As a final note, the DGAC Report makes a strong statement for the role of industry in providing healthier foods, with statements like “Change is needed in the overall food environment” and “The food industry will need to act to help Americans achieve these goals.” We applaud all members of the Whole Grains Council for being part of this change already, and we pledge the full resources of the WGC to help any and all companies who want to make even healthier and more innovative products going forward.
Interesting excerpts from the DGAC Report, on whole grains
The report calls for consumption of more ‘nutrient-dense’ foods defines both groups –
“All vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, eggs, and nuts prepared without added solid fats or sugars are considered nutrient-dense…” D2-2
“Non-nutrient-dense foods supply relatively few micronutrients and/or more calories than their nutrient-dense counterparts because nutrient-bearing components have been removed or calories from solid fats or added sugars have been added.” D2-2 [note: Under this definition, refined/enriched grains would be considered ‘non-nutrient-dense’ foods.]
“Intakes of refined grain are too high and at least half of all refined grains should be replaced with high-fiber whole grains.” D2-7
“Refined grains are ‘a grain product that is missing the bran, germ, and/or endosperm (a grain product that is not a whole grain).” D2-13 [note: This clarifies that bran and germ are not whole grains.]
“Deliberate efforts are required to replace refined grains with whole grains, especially fiber-rich whole grains, such that at least one-half of all grains consumed are whole grains.” D2-17
“Individuals with perceived allergies to grains should be evaluated before unnecessarily avoiding whole grains.” D2-17
“Refined breads rolls, buns, and pizza crust are not among the best sources of dietary fiber, but contribute substantially to what little dietary fiber is consumed because they are so ubiquitous in current dietary patterns of Americans.” D2-32
The report notes that eating more whole grains would free up valuable agricultural lands for growing more fruits and vegetables. “If every American were to meet the vegetable, fruit and whole grain recommendations, domestic crop acreage would need to increase by an estimated 7.4 million harvested acres.” B 3-7 But then the report drills down on that later on D2-21: You would need 8.9 million acres more veggies, 4.1 million acres more fruits, but in fact a great deal fewer acres of grains: “At the same time, sufficient cropland is currently devoted to wheat production and could, in fact, be reduced by 5.6 million acres.”
WGC Comments to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
As is appropriate in a democratic society, the DGAC welcomed comments throughout the period it was working on its report. The Whole Grains Council made comments three times. You may download these comments, which are now on the public record, in PDF format below:
April 16, 2009 WGC Comments to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
March 31, 2010 WGC Comments to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
July 12, 2010 WGC Comments to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee