Re: Nutrition Guidelines



Rita wrote:
> I have been wondering how those producing the nutrition
> guidelines determine certain recommendations, such as
> the grams of fiber one should strive for each day.
> Can this vary by age and weight and other factors as well?
> Eating say, x number of servings of vegetables each day
> is recommended, but how large need those servings be?
> Is there individual variation on this?
>
> Just how are these nutrition guidelines determined?
> Are they tested and with what population? Or are they
> simply a "best guess"? I'd really like to have some
> information on exactly what the process is of
> determining these guidelines before they are released
> to the public?

For the most part they are an arbitrary and political best guess that
won't offend the food industry lobbyists. Which means that the
guidelines will be kept quite low so that the it will be less likely
that food industry will be criticized for producing foods that are low
in nutrition and they can still say things like "Contains a full days
worth of" one nutrient or another or "a good source of" one nutrient or
another.

I doubt that you will find any accurate description of the actual
process in which these values are debated and agreed to. You may find a
listing of official meetings that took place in the process, but the
real nuts and bolts of the process is a long and complicated dance
involving high-powered food industry lobbyists, PACs, campaign
donations, and politicians. As is the case in virtually any guidelines
put forward by the US govt. Case in point: the food pyramid.

TC

.

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