New U.S. dietary guidelines urge more protein and less sugar, processed food

The Trump administration released updated U.S. dietary guidelines on Wednesday, telling Americans to eat more protein and full-fat dairy while cutting back on ultra-processed foods and added sugar.

The new guidelines emphasize protein at every meal and encourage people to eat twice the recommended daily allowance of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. That’s a departure from the traditional recommendation of 1.2 grams to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Proteins can be flavored with “salt, spices and herbs,” if preferred, the new guidelines said.

It also touts full-fat dairy products with no added sugars, moving away from earlier nutritional guidelines that called for low-fat or fat-free dairy to limit saturated fat intake.

The new guidelines also call for two to four servings of fiber per day, whereas the 2020 guidelines aimed for 14 grams per 1,000 calories.

The advice for saturated fat remained unchanged. The latest recommendations urge Americans to limit intake of saturated fat to less than 10% of total daily calories.

Americans are also urged to cut back on ultra-processed foods, including “packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat or other foods that are salty or sweet, such as chips, cookies and candy that have added sugars and sodium. Instead, Americans are urged to consume more “nutrient-dense foods and home prepared meals.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the new dietary guidelines critical to preventing chronic disease and improving Americans’ health. He called it the “most significant reset of federal nutrition guidelines in history.”

“My message is clear: Eat real food,” Mr. Kennedy said at a White House press conference.

The guidelines also reverse years of medical advice and encourage Americans to eat red meat and foods high in fats after decades of being told to avoid them. It also includes some of Mr. Kennedy’s frequent talking points like recommending that people cook with butter and beef tallow.

In other areas, the guidelines emphasize mainstream nutrition advice, such as eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and do not recommend that Americans eat more saturated fats.

The American Heart Association gave the new recommendation a mixed review. It commended the inclusion of eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and cutting back on sugars.

However, the association voiced concern about the recommendations regarding salt seasoning and read consumption that could “inadvertently lead consumers to exceed recommended limits for sodium and saturated fats, which are primary drivers of cardiovascular disease.”

The International Dairy Foods Association also applauded the guidelines, saying in a statement that the increased dairy recommendations are “an important victory for consumer choice and public health.”

“Americans can now enjoy the wholesome dairy foods that work for their cultural, dietary and lifestyle preferences, knowing they are benefiting from dairy’s unique nutrient profile,” the statement said.

The nutrition guidelines are updated every five years by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments. They are published as a public health tool to encourage Americans to make diet and health decisions based on scientific data.

The guidelines typically detail how many fruits and vegetables Americans should consume every day and whether to cook with vegetables or butter, how much protein to eat and more. The guidance also provides information for people in various life stages, such as pregnant women, infants and older adults.

“These new guidelines are going to update the food that is served to America’s children in our public schools to the plates that are served to our great men in uniform, in our military, our veterans, in the food that they are consuming at the VA, and these new guidelines are also going to impact nutritional programs for the needy in our country, such as WIC and Head Start,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.