(PatrioticPost.com)- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is updating the definition of healthy, which would change the labels of certain foods that are currently considered healthy under the old 1994 definition and foods that are not, according to The Epoch Times.
The new rule will allegedly “better account for how all the nutrients in various food groups contribute and may work synergistically to create healthy dietary patterns and improve health,” the FDA stated.
The current healthy definition, implemented in 1994, means that certain foods must contain a minimum amount of nutrients, including “vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, protein, and dietary fiber. It also set limits on total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.”
Under this definition, only about five percent of food in the marketplace would be considered healthy. The FDA argues, however, that this definition is outdated based on changes in nutrition science. The change would also mean that more foods that were not previously considered healthy, such as nuts, seeds, and fish, which contains higher fat content, will now be eligible for recommendation by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Current nutrition science “emphasizes nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, as key elements of a healthy dietary pattern,” according to the agency. Nutrient-dense foods “provide vitamins, minerals, and other health-promoting components and have little added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium,” according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.
The agency also noted that for a food to be considered healthy it must fall within established limits for certain nutrients. The limits are based on a percent of the daily value (DV). For example, restrictions for saturated fat would be limited at “5 percent of the DV for fruit, vegetable, and grain products. But it would be 10 percent for dairy products, game meats, seafood, and eggs; and 20 percent of total fat for oils, oil-based spreads, and oil-based dressings,” The Epoch Times reports.
The FDA announcement comes at the same time as the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health was focusing on diet-related diseases.
