VCU news

By Anne Dreyfuss
C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research

Experts from Virginia Commonwealth University are available to discuss updates announced last week to the federal government’s dietary guidelines, which are revised every five years and are based on the most current body of nutrition science for people ages 2 years and older.

Big changes include a recommendation to limit sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily caloric intake and the removal of a longstanding recommendation to limit cholesterol from foods to 300 milligrams a day. VCU experts are available to speak with media on a variety of topics related to the subject, such as ways to implement the guidelines into your daily diet and how to make healthy eating fun for kids.

Nicholas Fischetti is a clinical dietitian at VCU Health who specializes in cardiology. He can suggest lifestyle changes that will aid in making sustainable adjustments to daily eating habits. 

“Focusing on removing added salt, sugar and fat is a great place to start,” Fischetti said. “Healthy choices are for everyone and we are more successful when we support and work with each other instead of in isolation.”

Karen Schmidt is a registered dietitian at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. She can offer advice on how to incorporate the new guidelines into children and teen’s meals. “We counsel that kids should eat the rainbow with many different colors of fruits and vegetables daily,” Schmidt said. “Small steps in changing food intake over a week, a day, or even a meal can make a big difference in developing healthy eating patterns.”