Active Low-Carber Forums - View Single Post - 2020 Dietary Guidelines requesting our input

Strong editorial this week from Dr. Mark Cucuzzella regarding DGA:

https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/01/..._eid=8ce2f807c8

Excerpt:

Quote:

America’s top nutritionists are considering a new diet.

In recent years, researchers have proven that low-carb diets full of healthy fat and protein help people lose weight — plus prevent and even reverse disease. So for the first time ever, the experts who produce the federal “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” — which influence everything from school lunches to military rations — are reviewing the option of including a low-carb diet pattern.

Unfortunately, their supposedly “low-carb” diet will likely derive a whopping 45 percent of its calories from carbohydrates. That’s simply not low-carb. The federal government’s gaslighting isn’t merely dishonest; it could endanger the health of millions of Americans.

For decades, the government has urged people to consume most of their calories from breads, pastas, rice and other carbohydrate-laden foods. Consider the infamous “food pyramid” released by the federal government back in 1992. That diagram recommended 6 to 11 daily servings of grains. While that has since been reduced, the guidelines still recommend getting more than half one’s calories from carbs.
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If the committee moves forward with its potential “low-carb” definition in the upcoming 2020 guidelines, it will be a grave misstep. Labeling a diet that derives nearly half its calories from carbohydrates as “low-carb” is not only unscientific, it’s dangerous. Folks who follow this recommendation won’t see any of the benefits of a true low-carb lifestyle. Their health will continue to deteriorate — and they’ll dismiss “low-carb” diets as ineffective.

He makes an excellent point that the distortion of what really constitutes a low carb diet causes "nutrition experts" and others to react negatively with claims that it's ineffective, not sustainable, and plant-based options are preferable. Of course it's not sustainable, as the amount of carbs currently being recommended turn it into SAD with the accompanied cravings to eat and a feeling of lack of willpower riding along. Demoralizing for many who could benefit but lack the correct information to start.