Dr. Neal Barnard Of PCRM Weighs In On USDA Guidelines
Written by Vegetarian Star on February 9th, 2011 in Food & Drink, Nutrition-Health-Fitness.
Dr. Neal Barnard
The USDA has recognized that a plant-based diet may help a few problems many Americans are facing, such as high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and abdominal obesity.
In a new set of guidelines, the US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services states: “Vegetarian-style eating patterns have been associated with improved health outcomes — lower levels of obesity, a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower total mortality. Several clinical trials have documented that vegetarian eating patterns lower blood pressure.”
While that’s a step in the right direction, Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, feels the government still is shying away from telling people what not to or at least limit eating–animal products.
“They’re not enough, but they are the best guidelines that have ever come out,” Barnard told Smart Planet. “They’re a step forward. The most notable thing is they use the world “vegan” for the first time. They devote two pages to vegetarian and vegan diets. And that’s very important.”
“Where they really left themselves open to criticism is speaking in code. They’ve done this for years. When they are referring to a food to eat more of, they will say what it is, specifically, but when they want you to eat less of something, they will obfuscate. They will say, “Eat more fruit, more whole grains, more legumes.” And then they will say, “Eat less cholesterol and saturated fat.” It’s pretty obvious people need to eat less meat and less cheese, because these are the main sources of saturated fat.”
Lack of coming out and saying the consumption of animal products has been associated with numerous health conditions Barnard says shows there are still strong political ties between the USDA and the meat and dairy industries. But he does give credit to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Linda Van Horn for giving the V word some face time.
More at Smart Planet.
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