Boiling down the dietary guidelines
The dietary guidelines call for more veggies and less salt, fat and sugar. Here's what that means for you.
By Mayo Clinic StaffIn an environment that promotes high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods with a more sedentary lifestyle, too many Americans are regularly eating too many calories. Hence, the obesity epidemic and related health problems such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
The good news is that a large body of evidence shows that healthy-eating patterns and regular physical activity can help people achieve and maintain good health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
The recommendations
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide five overarching recommendations:
- Follow a healthy-eating pattern. A healthy-eating pattern and an appropriate calorie level will help you get the nutrition you need, achieve and maintain a healthy weight, and reduce your risk of chronic diseases.
- Focus on variety, nutrient density and amount. To meet your nutrient needs and stay within your calorie limit, choose a variety of nutrient-dense foods across all food groups. Nutrient-dense foods include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat dairy products.
- Limit calories from added sugars and saturated fats, and cut back on sodium. Follow an eating pattern that is low in added sugars, saturated fats and sodium.
- Shift to healthier food and beverage choices. Choose nutrient-dense foods and beverages across all food groups in place of less healthy choices.
- Support healthy-eating patterns for all. Everyone has a responsibility for supporting healthy-eating in all settings, such as at home, work or school, or wherever food is available.
What is a healthy-eating pattern?
A healthy-eating pattern is one that includes:
- A variety of vegetables — dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy and other
- Fruits, especially whole fruits
- Grains, at least half of which are whole grains
- Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt and cheese, and fortified soy beverages
- A variety of protein foods, including seafood, lean meats and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds and soy products
- Oils, including those from plants, and those that occur naturally in nuts, seeds, seafood, olives and avocados
The Healthy U.S.-Style is a dietary pattern designed to consider the types and proportions of foods Americans typically eat, but in nutrient-dense forms and appropriate amounts.
Food group | Servings |
---|---|
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015 | |
Vegetables | 2 1/2 cups a day |
Dark green | 1 1/2 cups a week |
Red and orange | 5 1/2 cups a week |
Legumes (beans and peas) | 1 1/2 cups a week |
Starchy | 5 cups a week |
Other | 4 cups a week |
Fruits | 2 cups a day |
Grains | 6 ounces a day |
Whole grains | ≥ 3 ounces a day |
Refined grains | ≤ 3 ounces a day |
Dairy | 3 cups a day |
Protein foods | 5 1/2 ounces a day |
Seafood | 8 ounces a week |
Meats, poultry, eggs | 26 ounces a week |
Nuts, seeds, soy products | 4 ounces a week |
Oils | 27 grams a day |
Limit on calories from added sugars, solid fats, added refined starches | 270 calories a day (14% of total calories) |
Products and Services
- Book: The Mayo Clinic Diet
- The Mayo Clinic Diet Online
- Book: Mayo Clinic on Digestive Health
- Book: The Mayo Clinic Kids’ Cookbook
See also
- Healthy-eating habits
- 5 strategies to improve eating habits
- Reduce sugar in your diet
- Acai berries
- Add flax to your diet
- Added sugar
- Alcohol use
- Alkaline water
- Are energy drinks bull?
- Art of Healthy Eating
- Artificial sweeteners
- Breast-feeding nutrition: Tips for moms
- Butter vs. margarine: What's healthier?
- Caffeine: How much is too much?
- Is caffeine dehydrating?
- Can whole-grain foods lower blood pressure?
- Carbohydrates
- Chart of high-fiber foods
- Cholesterol: Top foods to improve your numbers
- Coffee and health
- Diet soda: Is it bad for you?
- Dietary fats
- Dietary fiber
- Do you drink enough water?
- Prickly pear cactus
- Don't go cuckoo for coconut water
- Make healthy snack choices
- Eat more of these key nutrients!
- Eggs: Bad for cholesterol?
- Energy drinks
- Fat grams
- Fiber: How to get your fill
- Fit more fiber into your diet
- Flaxseed for breakfast? You bet!
- Foods for healthy skin
- Grape juice health benefits
- Health-boosting nutrients
- Is chocolate healthy?
- Healthy eating: What are legumes, anyway?
- Healthy heart for life: Avoiding heart disease
- Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid tool
- High-fructose corn syrup
- High-protein diets
- Alcohol during the holidays: 4 ways to sip smarter
- Takeout containers
- Is sea salt healthier than table salt?
- Is there more to hydration than water?
- Juicing
- Depression and diet
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- MUFAs
- Multigrain vs. whole grain
- Need a snack? Go nuts!
- Need more fiber? Do it the easy way
- Nutrition Facts label
- Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health
- Olive oil
- Omega-6 fatty acids
- Phenylalanine
- Protein: Heart-healthy sources
- Healthy eating plans
- Reduce sugar in your diet
- Health foods
- High-fiber diet
- Portion control
- Planning healthy meals
- Social eating can be healthy and enjoyable
- Sodium
- Sodium: Look beyond the saltshaker
- Stevia
- Tap water or bottled water: Which is better?
- Taurine in energy drinks
- Time to cut back on caffeine?
- Trans fat: A double whammy
- Trans fat
- Trans fat substitutes: Not always better
- Underweight: Add pounds healthfully
- Daily water requirement
- Water softeners and sodium
- Functional foods
- What's considered moderate alcohol use?
- What to know before you juice
- What's the difference between added sugars and total sugars?
- What's the difference between juicing and blending?
- Yerba mate