Hospital dietitians talk new federal dietary guidelines

Why healthcare marketers should care

The new federal dietary guidelines, published in early January, will set the stage for the federal school lunch program and other assisted meal programs throughout the United States; over 30 million people are affected by this according to The New York Times’ Well Blog That’s exactly why healthcare marketers should care. If you haven’t already, get involved in the conversation and make sure your hospital is on board with what the government believes Americans should be eating.

Published every five years since the 1980s, this year’s guidelines emphasize how Americans can adapt to a lifelong healthy eating pattern- instead of taking it one meal at a time. It urges us to eat more vegetables rich in colors, nuts and soybeans, whole fruits, reduced-fat milk, shellfish and lean meats. It also tells us what to cut back on such as added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.

We talked to dietitians across three different hospitals and healthcare systems to get their take on the federal guidelines and to learn how people can implement these suggestions into their everyday lives. Here’s what we found:

When grocery shopping, walk the perimeter

Melissa Stopera, a dietitian at Ellis Medicine said she agreed with the guideline’s recommendation to follow a lifelong dietary pattern. Incorporating healthier more substantial foods in our everyday diet, she said, doesn’t have to be difficult.

“Understanding which foods are involved in a healthy eating pattern is the first step,” Melissa said. “The Key Recommendations list should become the guidance for weekly grocery shopping.”

Like the Key Recommendations, she believes our grocery list should primarily include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and a variety of lean meats, poultry, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, soy, and oils. She said dietitians frequently reference “shopping the perimeter” of a grocery store when food shopping because this is where most of these “high-quality nutrient-dense” foods are found. In other words, avoid the snack aisle.

Be smart about the choices you make

Reducing the amount of added sugar in your diet is as easy as cutting back on soda. But sometimes, finding where sugars are added isn’t as obvious.

According to Portneuf Medical Center Dietitian Eva Sorrentino, that’s why it’s important to read the ingredients list on the backs of packaged foods. Eva said that processed foods tend to contain high amounts of added sugar. Even our “healthy” cereal can contain a gross amount of sugar; the same goes for that “fruit at the bottom” Greek yogurt we’ve been eating. To meet your sweet fix, she suggests cutting up fresh fruit or adding raisins to a hearty bowl of plain cereal or plain non-fat yogurt.

“When buying packaged foods, look for items that have short, simple, ingredient lists.  You can never go wrong with fruits and veggies,” Eva said.  “Also, watch condiments- ketchup, barbecue sauce, and salad dressings can have a lot of sugar.”

Meat in moderation

These dietitians agree that there is no “one size fits all” diet. However, when it comes to our consumption of red meat, poultry, and eggs, we should try to have limitations. Sarah Thomsen-Ferreira, a dietician at Columbia Memorial Health  said the guidelines suggest 26 ounces of meat, poultry, or eggs a week can ‘fit’ into a meal plan for someone eating 2,000 calories a day. “This could break down to three large eggs a week, and a four-ounce serving of red meat or poultry five times each week,” Sarah said.

She said the Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee, whose research is used to form the guidelines, only suggested 12.5 ounces of red meat a week for someone following  a 2,000 calories a day diet. “The advisory committee formed these recommendations based on findings, in part, that dietary patterns with lower consumption of red and processed meats are associated with decreased risk of colon and rectal cancer as well as post-menopausal breast cancer,” she said.

Quality over convenience

Over the last decade, Ellis Dietitian Melissa Stopera said she’s witnessed a shift in the way Americans make food and beverage decisions. Although technology has allowed us to track our caloric intake (Loseit, MyFitnessPal, etc.) and there is an increased awareness of high-calorie commercial items (Oreos, Doritos, etc.), the fast-food industry is still deemed a reasonable alternative to a home-cooked meal.

“I think that Americans continue to turn to convenience foods, which are typically not the healthiest choice,” Melissa said. “I also think that portion sizes are a significant problem and a source of confusion for folks.”

Melissa said it’s important to consider what the guidelines are telling us to do, versus what’s actually trending in the food and beverage industry. She said there’s a push for Americans to eat whole grains, fresh fruits, and veggies, yet, there is very little evidence that there’s a national shift materializing toward that lifestyle.

“We have a long way to go,” she said.

More transparency moving forward

While on board with the recommendation to integrate a healthy eating pattern across a lifespan, there are a few things these dietitians hope to see in the next edition of the federal guidelines. Sarah, our CMH dietary expert, said the Dietary Guideline Advisory Committee set the standards for the final report and was disappointed to see a disparity between their recommendations and what was discussed in the finalized guidelines.

“Many nutritionists (myself included) and food activists were also disappointed with the lack of attention paid to the environmental sustainability (or lack thereof) of our diets in the final report, to which the advisory committee devoted concentrated attention to,” Sarah said.

Melissa hopes there is a movement toward providing nutrition labels that are easier for Americans to understand and that assist us in making more educated decisions. “I think it is important to begin to distinguish added sugars versus natural sugars, and the same for sodium,” she said. Eva said that the next round of guidelines created should be more specific to people facing dietary diseases such as diabetes or prediabetes.

“I believe in prevention so if we can prevent diet-related chronic diseases before they develop, I think we can stay ahead of major health epidemics and reverse trends we are seeing in diabetes and obesity,” Eva said.