From Dairy Management Inc.™
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New meal plan from National Dairy Council serves up 3-A-Day of dairy
01/27/05
With Americans being instructed by the recently released Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 to increase intake of dairy to three servings of lowfat or fat-free dairy foods each day, the National Dairy Council® (NDC) has developed a meal plan to make it easy to achieve this goal as well as the other recommendations in the guidelines, including four-and-a-half cups of fruits and vegetables and three servings of whole grains each day.
The plan provides specific suggestions—and recipes—for incorporating dairy foods into nearly every meal. For instance, the plan recommends adding cheese to soups and vegetables at lunchtime or dinner and suggests breakfasts or snacks of yogurt-based items.
The philosophy behind the meal plan is to make it simple for Americans to consume more of the super foods that the guidelines recommend for maintaining good health. According to the guidelines, these “nutrient-dense foods” include whole grains, fruits and vegetables and lowfat or fat-free dairy foods. The NDC meal plan offers consumers a flexible guide that they can adapt to their own tastes and lifestyles so that eating more dairy, whole grains, fruits and vegetables each day is effortless and enjoyable.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued the first Dietary Guidelines in 1980 as part of its mission to improve the health and well-being of Americans through better nutrition, and they are now reviewed every five years. After an extensive review of nutrition research, the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services issued these most recent guidelines in early January. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide science-based advice that’s intended to promote health and reduce Americans’ risk of developing chronic disease through improved diet and physical activity. During the open and public review process, NDC submitted comments on dairy science, including the importance of the many nutrients found in dairy foods, such as vitamin D and potassium.
Recent research has shown that Americans in general are lacking many essential nutrients. The Dietary Guidelines identified seven “nutrients of concern,” or shortfall nutrients. Dairy foods supply four of the seven nutrients of concern for adults (calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin A) and three of the five nutrients of concern for children (calcium, magnesium and potassium). The Dietary Guidelines identified dairy foods as helping reduce the risk of osteoporosis, a chronic disease, and contributing to the overall nutrient quality of the diet.
Weighing In on Weight and Other Concerns
To help address another health concern—America’s expanding waistlines—the committee reviewing the guidelines paid particular attention to calories. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines emphasize flexibility in making food choices to encourage maintaining a healthy weight. The guidelines noted that, “Adults and children should not avoid milk and milk products because of concerns that these foods lead to weight gain.” The report also offers recommendations for those who are sensitive to lactose or are considering milk alternatives by guiding them to other foods within the dairy category, such as lactose-free milk and yogurt.
The meal plan is available at www.3aday.org.
Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines
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