The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) was established jointly by the Secretaries of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Committee’s task was to advise the Secretaries of USDA and HHS on whether revisions to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines were warranted, and if so, to recommend updates to the Guidelines. The DGAC immediately recognized that, on the basis of the vast amount of published research and emerging science on numerous relevant topics, an updated report was indeed needed.
The 2010 DGAC Report is distinctly different from previous reports in several ways. First, it addresses an American public of whom the majority are overweight or obese and yet under-nourished in several key nutrients. Second, the Committee used a newly developed, state-of-the-art, web-based electronic system and methodology, known as the Nutrition Evidence Library (NEL), to answer the majority of the scientific questions it posed. The remaining questions were answered by data analyses, food pattern modeling analyses, and consideration of other evidence-based reviews or existing reports, including the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were the starting place for most reviews. If little or no scientific literature had been published on a specific topic since the 2005 Report was presented, the DGAC indicated this and established the conclusions accordingly.
A third distinctive feature of this Report is the introduction of two newly developed chapters. The first of these chapters considers the total diet and how to integrate all of the Report’s nutrient and energy recommendations into practical terms that encourage personal choice but result in an eating pattern that is nutrient dense and calorie balanced. The second chapter complements this total diet approach by integrating and translating the scientific conclusions reached at the individual level to encompass the broader environmental and societal aspects that are crucial to full adoption and successful implementation of these recommendations.
The remainder of this Executive Summary provides brief synopses of these and all of the other chapters, which reviewed current evidence related to specific topics and presents the resulting highlights that comprise the fundamental essence of this report.
Alcohol
An average daily intake of one to two alcoholic beverages is associated with the lowest all-cause mortality and a low risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease among middle-aged and older adults. Despite this overall benefit of moderate alcohol consumption, the DGAC recommends that if alcohol is consumed, it should be consumed in moderation, and only by adults.
Moderate alcohol consumption is defined as average daily consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men, with no more than three drinks in any single day for women and no more than four drinks in any single day for men. One drink is defined as 12 fl. oz. of regular beer, 5 fl. oz. of wine, or 1.5 fl. oz. of distilled spirits.
The DGAC found strong evidence that heavy consumption of four or more drinks a day for women and five or more drinks a day for men has harmful health effects.
A number of situations and conditions call for the complete avoidance of alcoholic beverages.
Read Section 7: Alcohol (PDF)
USDA Press Release ― June 15, 2010 (PDF)
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