Our Dietary Guidelines are killing us, and here is why – nobody follows guidelines! The guidelines tell us what we are supposed to eat to stay healthy. Yet, as a nation, we continue to get sicker and fatter. A heart attack at 41 shows you how well I follow guidelines.
History of the Dietary Guidelines
The Dietary Guidelines were first developed in 1980. Every 5 years, the Government appoints a group of nutritional and medical experts to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). The DGAC is responsible for researching and producing the report and guidelines.
So how effective are these guidelines from DGAC? The committee addresses that right up front by stating the following:
The 2015 DGAC’s work was guided by two fundamental realities. First, about half of all American adults—117 million individuals—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, and about two-thirds of U.S. adults—nearly 155 million individuals—are overweight or obese.
The report found that these conditions have been highly prevalent for at least two decades. This means the conditions became highly prevalent about a decade after the guidelines were first published!
What’s Better Than Guidelines?
Rules! Rules are meant to be followed and have explicit consequences when not followed. If you are trying to prevent or recover from a heart attack (or just get healthy) set some rules and stick to them. Abe Lincoln and I have previously stated our rules for living. His may be a bit more eloquent, but here are mine:
- Don’t smoke – A hard and fast rule. Smoking accelerates the dying process.
- Get off your ass – Move at least 30 minutes a day, 5-days a week. Put workouts on a calendar and don’t miss them!
- Quit eating crap – Unprocessed and nutritional foods 6-days a week. Day 7 is a cheat day, go nuts!
- Simplify your life – Make some rules about work/life balance and stick to them.
Amazingly, Abe and my lists are quite similar. I may add “steer clear of biliousness” to mine in the future. In the meantime, know that following these rules will substantially improve your overall health. Not following the rules will lead to chronic disease and obesity. Time to make a choice!