Eating a variety of fruit and vegetables, aiming for five a day, limiting saturated fat to less than 10% of energy \u2013 these are all still there. So are being mindful of portion sizes, reducing processed foods, limiting refined sugars and prioritising whole foods.<\/p>\n
Where things get contentious is the emphasis on animal fats and protein. Meats, full-fat dairy, butter and beef tallow \u2013 all sources of saturated fat \u2013 are now recommended as healthy fats.<\/p>\n
This contradicts established science. Saturated fats are known to increase heart disease and stroke risk, which is a leading cause of death in the US<\/a>.<\/p>\n Doesn\u2019t add up<\/p>\n Crucially, the guidelines don\u2019t explain how people can eat these foods while keeping saturated fat below 10% of energy intake. The maths simply doesn\u2019t add up.<\/p>\n Protein recommendations have doubled from 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day to 1.2\u20131.6g per kilogram of body weight per day. This follows social trends in protein popularity<\/a> rather than nutritional need.<\/p>\n Adequate protein is important for muscle mass, blood sugar management and keeping hunger at bay. But this shift seems odd given that Americans are not under-consuming protein<\/a> in the first place.<\/p>\n Many other contradictions are present too. The guidelines suggest flavouring meat and vegetables with salt while simultaneously restricting sodium \u2013 a component of salt.<\/p>\n Fibre and fibre-containing foods like pulses and legumes get barely a mention. There\u2019s heavy emphasis on reducing highly processed foods, but no clear definition of what these include.<\/p>\n The alcohol advice is equally confusing. People are told to reduce intake without any guidance on how much is too much.<\/p>\n Perhaps most problematic is that the inverted pyramid image doesn\u2019t match what\u2019s written in the guidelines. Wholegrains sit at the narrow bottom, suggesting low consumption is recommended, but the text says two to four servings per day.<\/p>\n Meats and saturated fat sit at the top, implying high consumption is advised. As the pyramid is the primary visual tool for communicating these guidelines to the public, this confusion is deeply concerning.<\/p>\n The new US food pyramid. It\u2019s not just the content that\u2019s changed \u2013 the entire process has been overhauled. The US government rejected<\/a> the scientific report from independent experts<\/a> that usually informs the guidelines. Instead, it hired a new group of scientists who chose not to consider any fields other than nutrition science. <\/p>\n International and US trends in dietary guidelines increasingly take a broader view<\/a>, considering environmental impact, and whether people from all backgrounds can access, afford and prepare recommended foods.<\/p>\n This broader perspective acknowledges a harsh reality. In their current form, dietary guidelines have limited effect on what people actually eat.<\/p>\n A recent review<\/a> of studies from 18 countries found that only 14% to 45% of people follow some or all of their country\u2019s dietary recommendations. <\/p>\n The World Health Organization<\/a> and many scientists<\/a> have called for \u201cfood systems-based\u201d dietary guidelines to address this. A food systems approach doesn\u2019t just tell people what to eat. It recommends changes across all aspects of the food system \u2013 from production through to processing, distribution, preparation and consumption.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/file-20260115-56-js3fnc.png\")
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\n HHS and USDA<\/p>\n