Milling & Baking News - July 28, 2020 - 16

Nutrition and Health

Whole grains placed on highest
pedestal yet by Guidelines group
Continued from Page 1

US Department of Agriculture and the
Department of Health and Human Services, which are jointly responsible for
the Guidelines, will accept written public
comments on the report through Aug. 13.
In reaching its conclusions, the committee said it used three approaches -
data analysis, food pattern modeling and
Nutrition Evidence Systematic Reviews
(NESR). The committee acknowledged
that for the third consecutive time, the
DGA are being drafted against a backdrop of suboptimal American eating
habits, with more than 70% of Americans
overweight or obese (the figures have
been rising), with obesity a public health
problem and food insecurity and a lack of
access to affordable healthy food another
persistent problem.
A key feature of the 2020 report, building on efforts started by the 2015 committee, is a focus on dietary patterns.
"This emphasis acknowledges the reality that people do not consume nutrients or
foods in isolation but in various combinations over time," the researchers said. "It
also reflects growing evidence that components of a dietary pattern may have interactive, synergistic, and potentially cumulative relationships that can predict overall
health status and disease risk more fully
than can individual foods or nutrients."
It is in the context of dietary patterns
that the committee repeatedly cast whole
grains in a positive light and refined
grains decidedly less so.
"Common characteristics of dietary
patterns associated with positive health

X

outcomes include higher intake of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, low- or
non-fat dairy, lean meat and poultry, seafood, nuts, and unsaturated vegetable oils
and low consumption of red and processed

eq/day are consumed from whole grains,
which is well below recommended intakes. Whole grain intakes are well below recommended levels in all age-sex
groups, with only 2% of the population
meeting recommendations."
While almost 75% of Americans consume more refined grains than recommended, the researchers found that

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meats, sugar-sweetened foods and drinks,
and refined grains," the report said.
The researchers said average intake
of total grains among Americans ages 2
years and older is 6.4 oz per day, a figure
falling within the recommended range of
3 to 8 oz.
"More than 1 in 5 people exceeds recommended levels for total grains," the
researchers said. "However, only 0.9 oz

about half of adults consume total grains
in amounts lower than recommended.
By contrast, only 16% of adult males and
20% of adult females consume more total
grains than recommended.
"The top food subcategory contributor
to total grain intake for all age-sex groups
is burgers and sandwiches, providing a
quarter or more of total grain intake on
an average day," the report said. "Among

ABA seeks more balanced recommendation in Dietary Guidelines

WASHINGTON - The American Bakers Association on July 21 urged
the US Department of Agriculture and the US Department of Health and
Human Services to consider "a more balanced recommendation" for
grains when the agencies publish the final 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans later this year.
The ABA's comments come on the heels of the release of the Dietary
Guidelines Advisory Committee's scientific report, which was unveiled
on July 15. In the scientific report, the DGAC urged more repetitively
than ever that intake of refined grains should be replaced with whole
grains. The report retains the recommendation that at least half of total
grains should come from whole grains, with total grains intake of 3 to 8
oz per day, based on energy intake.
"While the report clearly outlined the nutritional benefits of whole
grains, it unfortunately diminishes the undeniable, scientifically-backed
nutritional importance of enriched grains in the American diet," said Lee
Sanders, senior vice president of government relations and public affairs
at the ABA. "The required enrichment of folic acid in enriched/refined
grains has been hailed as one of the top public health achievements of

16 / July 28, 2020

Milling & Baking News

the 21st century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as
an important, efficient and economical way to decrease the chances for
neural tube defects in infants. In our public comments to the DGAC, ABA
and the Grain Chain will certainly focus on this issue."
Despite some of the shortcomings in the report, the ABA said it was
pleased that the DGAC recognized the importance of iron-fortified cereals as "essential to healthy growth and development."
"It is important to note the report identified whole grains as one of
three foods fundamental to a healthy diet and also affirmed the value
of plant-based diets, of which grains are a key component," Ms. Sanders
said. "We urge USDA and HHS to include enriched grain recommendations in the 2020 Guidelines. ABA and the Grain Chain will be providing
strong, compelling, science-backed research to support the facts."
The 835-page report was published July 15 and, subject to public
comment, will form the basis of the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans. The USDA and HHS, which are jointly responsible for the
Guidelines, will accept written public comments on the report through
Aug. 13. MBN

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Milling & Baking News - July 28, 2020

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