Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (Recommendations on Dietary Fat)

The new version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 offers a significant change from previous versions.  The core of the new guidelines is to go back to "real food", not "processed and packaged" food.  It encourages a commonsense focus on healthy eating rather than a set of "limits" or "maximums."  In this short series of articles, each week will will look at an overview of one of the recommendations.  This is an introduction to these guidelines, you will find the full version of the guidelines online at: https://realfood.gov/#resources.  These articles are sourced from an Epoch Times article: The Science Behind the New Dietary Guidelines. 

Recommendations on Dietary Fat

Saturated fat comprises the majority of animal fat and is usually solid at room temperature.  The saturated in the name means that the fat molecule has the most number of hydrogen bonds possible within its structure.  In comparison, unsaturated fats contain one or more double bonds between carbon atoms so more hydrogen bonds can be formed.  Unsaturated fats are mainly found in vegetable oils and are normally liquid at room temperature.  Artificially saturating a vegetable oil (called hydrogenation) results in an unsaturated fat becoming a "trans-fat" and solid at room temperature.  Limiting saturated fat intake has long been recommended for cardiovascular health.  Previous reviews found that reducing saturated fat reduces the risk of a cardiovascular event by 17 percent, but does not affect overall mortality.

The new guidelines keep the previous recommendations of saturated fats limited to less than 10 percent of dietary intake, but it recommends making use of full-fat dairy as opposed to low-fat, and suggests butter and beef tallow as potential cooking options.  Some wonder if this advice will make it easier for people to exceed the 10 percent suggest limit.  It is important to remember that 10 percent is a range and not a specific recommendation.  It is not that 10 percent is good, 11 percent is bad and 9 percent is better.  The exact health effects of saturate fat are still under debate, but with the guidelines recommendations it is encouraging an increased usage of saturate fat rather than its avoidance.

Again the guidelines seem to be promoting an "all things in moderation" approach in its promotion of Real Food.

Next: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 (Seed Oils Not an Option)

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