Dear Medical Colleagues,
The current version of the Dietary Guidelines for America now being proposed is being challenged in Congress. There is still much room for improvement to be consistent with the evidence and clinical experience.
This is a call to action sparked by Nina Teicholz’s recent British Medical Journal Article
“The scientific report guiding the US dietary guidelines: Is it scientific?”
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h4962
I replied to Nina’s article in the reviewed published responses . Read them. Several leading physicians from all over the world responded.
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h4962/rapid-responses
Please review and sign this petition and share it if you feel there needs to be more open discussion.
http://nutrition-coalition.org/petition/
Here is some of recent media on the debate. You can help make for a healthier future. Get involved.
A little on some action steps we are taking in West Virginia among citizens who are most food insecure
http://wvobserver.com/2015/10/you-want-to-eat-healthier-but-its-just-too-expensive/
Mark Cucuzzella MD
Professor West Virginia University School of Medicine
Disclosures: none
Here is more on the Nutrition Coalition.
………………
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2015
CONTACT:
Nation’s Leading Nutrition Experts, Concerned Doctors Form New Coalition Aimed at Improving American Health by Ensuring that Federal Nutrition Policy is Based on Rigorous Science
‘The Nutrition Coalition’ Brings Fresh Voices to the National Discussion on Dietary Guidelines, Emphasizes Need for Guidelines to be Based on Rigorous Science to Help Americans Prevent Diet-Related Diseases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, a new coalition of some of the nation’s leading academics and concerned doctors formed to raise awareness about the need to strengthen the federal government’s dietary guidelines to help Americans prevent diet-related diseases, and to improve the health of citizens across the country. The Nutrition Coalition, a newly established 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, formed out of a growing concern that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) have not reflected the most conclusive and current science available – and that a thorough and transparent process for developing new guidelines is needed to ensure Americans are being recommended diets based on sound science.
The Coalition is comprised of some of the nation’s leading voices on nutrition, including three former members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee – the government-appointed commission in charge of developing the guidelines – as well as the former chair of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee. The Coalition will educate policymakers, stakeholders, and the public on the importance of improving our nutrition policy by strengthening the process by which dietary guidelines are developed. The guidelines, which are updated every five years to reflect the latest science and research, are intended to help Americans develop healthy eating habits to preserve health and to prevent diet-related conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
The Coalition is funded by the Action Network Initiative (ANI) – an advocacy group supported by Houston-based philanthropists Laura and John D. Arnold – which funds initiatives to ensure public policy is based on sound science. No financial support is provided by industry groups of any kind. More information on the Nutrition Coalition can be found by visiting www.nutrition-coalition.org.
The Coalition’s work is driven and supported by a Scientific Advisory Board as well as a Medical Council, providing comprehensive and expert insight on both the science and policy of nutrition.
The Scientific Advisory Board
The Scientific Advisory Board consists of six leading science experts, including Ronald M. Krauss, the former two-term chair of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee.
“Many of the recommendations in the dietary guidelines are not based on conclusive science,” Krauss said, who will also serve as chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. “In those cases, the guidelines should inform rather than recommend until there is more definitive evidence to support specific recommendations. It’s therefore critical that funding for nutrition research be increased to support clinical trials that address crucial topics for which significant evidence gaps exist.”
Serving alongside Krauss on the Scientific Advisory Board is Cheryl Achterberg, Dean of the Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, and a member of the 2010 advisory committee, responsible for developing the last iteration of the dietary guidelines.
“It’s been 35 years since the government launched its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, yet the nation continues to suffer from ever-rising rates of obesity and diabetes,” Achterberg said. “As a former member of the committee responsible for developing the guidelines, I believe the process has not produced the guidance we need, in part because we don’t have a clear, comprehensive review of the best available science.”
The Scientific Advisory Board includes former members of the advisory committee and prominent nutrition experts, including:
- Ronald M. Krauss, Senior Scientist and Director of Atherosclerosis Research, Children’s Hospital of Oakland Research Institute, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at UCSF and in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at UC Berkeley, and Guest Senior Scientist in the Department of Genome Sciences of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, two-term chair of the American Heart Association nutrition committee.
- Theresa Nicklas, Professor of Pediatrics, USDA/Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, ACSH Board of Scientific and Policy Advisors, appointed to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (2010).
- Eric Decker, Department Head, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Department of Food Science, awarded one of ISI Most Highly Cited Agricultural Scientists, appointed to Food and Drug Administration Food Advisory Committee.
- Dr. Cheryl Achterberg, Dean, The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology, inaugural dean of the College of Human Sciences, appointed to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (2010), liaison to the governing board of The Nutrition Coalition.
- Joanne Lupton, Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M Department of Nutrition and Food Science, Member, Institute of Medicine, chair of the Macronutrients Panel for the Dietary Reference Intakes and the National Academy panel on dietary fiber, current member of the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, lifetime associate of the National Academy of Sciences, appointed a member of the Dietary Guidelines Committee (2005).
- Esther Myers, former chief science officer of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, developer of the Evidence Analysis Library for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, director of nutritional medicine for the US Air Force.
The Medical Council
The Coalition’s Medical Council will further bolster the work of the Scientific Advisory Board, and the Coalition at large, by raising awareness about the need for more flexible approaches, beyond the low-fat diet, for combatting obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
“Physicians are on the front lines of helping people to lose weight and prevent diabetes and heart disease,” said Dr. Sarah Hallberg of Indiana University’s School of Medicine, and chair of the Coalition’s Medical Council. “It’s clear to us, as health practitioners and with our current nutritional advice, that we’ve been unable to help our patients effectively combat these diseases. It is therefore critical that the guidance we rely upon, from official dietary recommendations, be truly based on the best and most rigorous and current science available.”
The Medical Council consists of a number of prominent doctors, including:
- Dr. Sarah Hallberg, DO (Chair), Medical Director and Founder, Indiana University-Arnett Health Medical Weight Loss Program, Diplomate, American Board of Obesity Medicine and American Board of Clinical Lipidology, ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Adjunct Professor Indiana University School of Medicine.
- Dr. Thomas Dayspring, MD, Director, Cardiovascular Education at Foundation for Health Improvement and Technology, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at New Jersey Medical School, awarded the National Lipid Association’s prestigious 2001 President’s Service Award.
- Dr. Michael Ozner, MD, Director, Wellness & Prevention at Baptist Health South Florida; Symposium Director, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, awarded 2008 American Heart Association Humanitarian Award, elected to Top Cardiologists in America, Bestselling Author.
- Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, MD, Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Director, Pre-Doctoral Family Medicine Education and Faculty Rural Family Medicine Residency Program of West Virginia University; Lt. Col., US Air Force Reserves.
- Dr. Carrie Diulus, MD, Former Medical Director, Information Technology Division at the Cleveland Clinic, CEO and founder of Speira Health, Senior Clinical Associate for Tres Rios Group and Amati Health, active member of the North American Spine Surgeon Association.
The Nutrition Coalition will further be supported by a Governing Board consisting of Dr. Cheryl Achterberg, of Ohio State University, John Billings, the director of New York University, and Nina Teicholz, journalist and author, with coordinating support from Beth Johnson, food policy consultant.
The Need for A Rigorous Process Based on Conclusive Science
More than two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and more than half are either pre-diabetic or diabetic. These nutrition-related epidemics cost the government more than 4 trillion dollars annually in health care expenditures. It is problematic that national nutrition advice, known as the Dietary Guidelines of America, have yet to combat these nutrition-related diseases. Concern about this issue is growing, not only about the science behind the guidelines, but the process overall.
For more information on the Nutrition Coalition, please visit www.nutrition-coalition.org.
Hello,
You are aware that:
– Nina’s article for the BMJ was funded by the Arnold Foundation, which is owned (?) by John Arnold who is heavily involved in the beef industry? Her information is anything but unbiased.
– The BMJ printed a retraction to Nina’s article:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5686
And, upon close scrutiny her article, like most of Taubes’, is loaded with inaccuracies based on the information she tries to cite.
Finally, having had the opportunity to ‘live in the wild’ for several weeks, I never once ate a diet that was anywhere close to what Nina, Gary Taubes or any of the other journalists claim to be dietary science. Our ancestors, based on personal experience, most likely live on tubers, bugs, rodents, grasses and other easily accessible foods. Larger animals, eggs and fish were the rarity as they are difficult to catch let alone find.
Parker appreciate the opinion. we all have one. each can read and try different forms of nutrition for themselves and read the literature. the BMJ has not retracted the article.
Read about one of the leaders in trying to retract it Dr David Katz. The conflicts of interest are huge in the naysayers, including Katz who has books to sell and reviews his own under psuedonyms.
this article also highlights some of the true madness behind all these guidelines and who is captaining the ship. my comment on here.
http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2015/11/04/katz-faces-criticism-for-book-review/
PRM McDougal and Barnard have an agenda too …I commented on their non sense
http://www.foodpolitics.com/2015/11/does-eating-eggs-raise-blood-cholesterol-levels/
Right here is the perfect blog for everyone who hopes to find out about this
topic. You understand so much its almost
tough to argue with you (not that I really would want to…HaHa).
You definitely put a fresh spin on a subject that’s been discussed for
many years. Great stuff, just excellent!