A new dietary guide from the Trump administration blows up the food pyramid so Americans can eat more protein
Listen to this article
Average 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
Americans should eat whole foods and proteins, fewer highly processed foods and added sugars, according to the latest nutritional advice released Wednesday by the Trump administration.
US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released the 2025-2030 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provide updated recommendations for healthy eating and provide a foundation for federal nutrition programs and policies. They come as Kennedy has been pushing for months to fix the US diet as part of his Make America Healthy Again plan.
“Our message is clear: Eat real food,” Kennedy told reporters at a White House briefing.
The guidelines emphasize the consumption of fresh vegetables, whole grains and dairy products, which have long been recommended as part of a healthy eating plan.
But they also take a new stance on “highly processed” foods, and refined carbohydrates, urging consumers to avoid “packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat or other salty or sweet foods, such as chips, cookies and candy.” That’s a different term for the highly processed, highly flavored, high-energy products that make up more than half of the calories in the US diet and are linked to chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity.
The new guidelines backtrack on long-standing advice to limit saturated fat, despite signs from Kennedy and Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary that the administration will push for more animal fat use to end the “war” on saturated fat.
Instead, the document suggests that Americans should choose whole-food sources of saturated fat — such as meat, whole-fat dairy or avocados — while continuing to limit consumption of saturated fat to no more than 10 percent of daily calories. The guidance says “other options may include butter or beef,” despite previous recommendations to avoid those fats.
The guidelines had to be revised
The Dietary Guidelines, which are required by law to be updated every five years, provide a template for a healthy diet. But in a country where more than half of adults have a chronic disease related to diet, few Americans are following the guidelines, research shows.
The new recommendations have earned praise from some leading nutritionists.
“There should be broad agreement that eating whole foods and reducing highly processed carbohydrates is a huge improvement in the way we approach food and health,” said Dr. David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner who has written books on food and nutrition and petitioned the FDA to remove key ingredients from highly processed foods.
Some expressed relief after concerns that the guidelines would contradict decades of dietary evidence linking saturated fat, LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, to heart disease.
Highly processed foods are not good for your health, but they are often cheap, easy to prepare and shelf stable. CBC’s Jennifer Yoon explains why it’s hard to stop eating them and what Canada can do to help you eat fewer of them.
“I think whoever wrote these should have acknowledged that the science hasn’t changed,” said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist and food policy expert who advised previous editions of the guidelines. “They haven’t changed in any fundamental way other than the emphasis on eating whole foods.”
The new document is just 10 pages long, supporting Kennedy’s promise of a simple, easy-to-understand guide. Previous editions of the dietary guidelines have grown over the years, from a 19-page booklet in 1980 to a 164-page document released in 2020, which included a four-page summary.
The guidance will have the most profound impact on the federally funded National School Lunch Program, which is required to meet the guidelines to feed nearly 30 million US children on a typical school day.
