New US Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol Consumption
By Kristen Haley, LCB Public Health and Education Liaison
New US Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol Consumption
By Kristen Haley, LCB Public Health and Education Liaison
The new US Dietary Guidelines made me crave…more guidance!
Please, take a seat at my figurative table while I chat for a moment about the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS).
The **10th edition of the DGA** has made headlines for turning the food pyramid on its head — literally!
The New Food Pyramid from DGA
While most people in the US have been assessing what these newest guidelines mean for what goes on their plates, I’ve been wondering what folks should be filling their cups with.
Previous versions of the DGA have given recommendations about how many daily drinks of alcohol a person could consume. The **9th edition**, released in 2020, suggested, “two or less drinks a day for men and one or less a day for women on days when alcohol is consumed.” The former guidelines clarified these amounts were put forward to, “help Americans move toward a healthy dietary pattern and minimize risks associated with drinking” and went on to warn about potential harms associated with drinking more alcohol than recommended.
When the newest DGA was released earlier this month, I noticed the alcohol guidance was significantly shortened and perhaps oversimplified. The new recommendation is to “limit alcohol beverages” and “consume less alcohol for better health.” Notably, there is no suggestion for what “limiting” means and there are no longer explanations for why a person should consider reducing their alcohol consumption.
If you are craving more information, allow me to serve up a few explanations:
- Alcohol use increases the risk of liver disease, heart disease, several cancers, injuries, and addiction. It is also a major contributing factor for gun violence, suicide, and fatal car crashes.
- If you drink alcohol, reducing or stopping use reduces the risk of harm to your health and safety. What that means:
- Limit alcohol consumption to two or less drinks a day for men and one or less a day for women on days when alcohol is consumed.
- Limit the number of days per week when alcohol is consumed.
- Certain groups should avoid alcohol entirely, including:
- Anyone under 21
- People who are pregnant or may become pregnant
- People with certain medical conditions and those taking over the counter or prescription medications that interact with alcohol
- People recovering from alcohol use disorder
- People with a family history of alcohol-related cancers
Hungry for more?
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