Federal Government Announces New Dietary Guidelines: Here's What You Need to Know

In case you missed it, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released their updated dietary guidelines earlier this month.

These guidelines are updated by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) every five years.

The new guidelines include some contradictory recommendations and have been met with some criticism from prominent health organizations, including the American Heart Association.

Let's get into the good and the bad.

What looks good:  

• Recommends eating more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains
• Emphasizes reducing the consumption of refined sugar, refined grains, and ultra-processed food

What's concerning:

• Places meat and dairy at the top of the food pyramid
• Emphasis on increasing protein consumption
• Guidelines on alcohol consumption are not specific

While the guidelines still recommend limiting saturated fat consumption to 10 percent of overall calories per day, the emphasis on animal-based products like meat and dairy contradict this. There is a concern that people will consume more saturated fat because of this, leading to an increase risk of heart disease, stroke, and high cholesterol. 

Generally speaking, Americans already consume enough protein and can even exceed the recommended daily amount. Increasing that recommendation may lead to an increased risk of many diseases, since there is no clear guideline to consume more plant-protein instead of animal-based protein. 

The average American is not going to read through these dietary guidelines - they will look to the food pyramid and the slogan "eat real food" for guidance. Unfortunately, that can leave people confused on exactly what to eat, including portion sizes of specific food groups. 

Guidelines on alcohol are also unclear. The guidelines say to "consume less alcohol for better overall health" but do not specify what amount, if any, is considered acceptable. Research has shown that any amount of alcohol consumption leads to an increased risk of diseases including cancer.

There is also a comment recommending low-carb diets, "Individuals with certain chronic diseases may experience improved health outcomes when following a lower carbohydrate diet." This is also misleading because carbs are a macronutrient and are a necessary part of a healthy diet, and general statements don't take into consideration the different types of carb sources and how they function in the body. 

These guidelines will not only impact individuals deciding what to eat for their health, but can also influence systems which can have a negative impact on larger groups of people. For example, if schools use these guidelines to change their cafeteria offerings, we could see good things like an increase in vegetables and fruit being offered but we may also see an increase in animal-based protein and dairy which can potentially lead to negative health outcomes. 

These new guidelines are particularly disappointing when you consider that the DGAC prioritized plant-based protein over animal-based protein for the first time in 2025. Now it feels like we have regressed from that progress. 

These guidelines along with the news that the U.S. has left the World Health Organization (WHO), can leave people feeling hopeless. The WHO plays an important role in public health including research and responding to global health emergencies. 

In response, California has joined the WHO's Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN). It's important to remain hopeful and feel empowered to make change, in your own life and in your community.

As always, I'll continue to share scientifically-backed information on plant-based diets, including a whole-food plant-based diet.

If you need help eating more plants, I'm here for you.