It’s time dairy is removed from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. It’s astounding the amount of money and effort industry has dedicated to influence and confuse Americans that milk and dairy is a health food and does the body good when it’s simply been a train-wreck to our health.
An early report released by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee in preparation of the 2020-2025 U.S. Dietary Guidelines is not looking favorable to remove dairy as a food group. It’s not a surprise with the influence industry has on the guidelines and resulting health of our country but we have to keep trying. It will change at some point and is happening in other parts of the world.
The USDA and US Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) is accepting public comments on the upcoming Guidelines through August 13, 2020. You can click on this link to advocate for the removal of dairy as a food group. It takes just a couple minutes and could make a significant difference in our future health and well-being of our children as these guidelines are tied to school lunch programs (currently no dairy alternatives offered).
Some of the damage dairy inflicts includes:
- Heart disease (#1 source of saturated fat in the U.S. and the #1 killer in the U.S. – 650,000 each year…more than triple recent estimates COVID-19 will have and this occurs every year)
- Cancers (it doesn’t care which version of cancer but two of the most popular, prostate and breast, are linked heavily)
- Type 2 Diabetes
- A decrease in bone health (how ironic…)
- Leading to being overweight or obese which leads to all of these chronic illnesses
- Numerous other chronic illnesses (the list just goes on and on)
I covered these effects in more detail in the blog, Ditch Dairy for Overall Health if you want to explore more. I am a proud supporter of the work Switch4Good, an organization educating and influencing why and how to ditch dairy, is doing in this space. They have published the following plea and make it extremely easy to help submit comments to the USDA and HHS with a pre-filled form.
Switch4Good Plea
This is our chance to right this injustice.
Over a quarter of the public comments submitted to the US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee called for the removal of dairy as a food group from the upcoming guidelines. Why?
Because dairy is not a health food.
Dairy has the potential to lead to a host of serious health problems, and 36 percent of the American population cannot even tolerate it. When a food makes over one-third of a population sick, it should not be recommended by the government as an essential food group.
The US Dietary Guidelines serve as guiding principles for schools, businesses, the foodservice industry, dietitians, and policymakers. Each and every American is influenced by its recommendations, and as they are written, we are being grossly underserved.
We ask that you stand up for your own health and the health of others. The guidelines will be institutionalized for the next five years, so this is our last chance to persuade the USDA and HHS to remove the dairy food group. It is the single most effective action our government can take to benefit the health and overall quality of life for all Americans.
The USDA and HHS is accepting public comments on the upcoming Guidelines through August 13, 2020. You can make a difference by submitting your comments here. You can use the provided comment or add your own.
Most recently, Canada, in their new food guide released in 2019 eliminated dairy and promotes a plant-heavy eating plan. Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced in June Canada’s government will be investing $100 million in the plant-based food industry. With chronic illnesses running rampant in the U.S., I hope we follow some of the wisdom and direction Canada and many other countries are now doing for the overall health of their people.
The explosion in plant-based foods over the last several years gives us so many tasty and healthy options to try. If you need help making a switch, trying it out, and/or have questions, let me know how I can help. I’m also a big fan of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s (PCRM) 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Program. It’s free with several tools and resources to help you explore and feel great.
I learned the hard way and let my health deteriorate but thankfully experiencing some tough times, educating myself about nutrition and the impacts of what I was putting in my body, I feel better than ever. With so many conflicting agendas, what we can control is educating ourselves and then making informed decisions.
Let’s help fellow Americans by knocking dairy off the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
– Add Health to Your Life
Featured Blog Photo – one of my buddies I stop and sing to on my rides in San Antonio, FL
Additional info:
I recommend the following resources to research more on your own:
- Switch4Good – switch4good.org
- Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine – pcrm.org
- Nutrition Facts – nutrtionfacts.org
- What the Dairy Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know (Dr. Neal Barnard video)
- The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy (book)
- This Cheese is Nuts!: Delicious Vegan Cheese at Home (book)
I also love these two short videos via Switch4Good about the effects of dairy:
The Healthy Giraffe 
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