The Guidelines will encourage combining exercise with healthy eating habits to manage weight and stay healthy. The Guidelines will also now include recommendations on portion control and safe food handling. While not intended as a recommendation to start drinking alcohol, the new Guidelines will incorporate the age groups that may benefit from drinking alcohol in moderation. Moderate drinking may lower risk for coronary heart disease, mainly among men over age 45 and women over age 55. The Guidelines define moderate consumption as no more than one drink per day for non-pregnant women and no more than two drinks per day for men.
Moderate consumption provides little, if any, health benefit for younger people.
Due to the growing ethnic diversity of the American public, the new Guidelines will highlight how Asian and Hispanic foods fit into the Food Guide Pyramid. The new Dietary Guidelines will contain wording that is more positive and emphasize that all foods can fit into a healthy diet if consumed in moderation. For more details, you can access the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000 on the web. Recommendations on this web site do not endorse any commercial products or trade names.