In 2025, the USDA and Dept. of HHS released “updated dietary guidelines,” which in essence was a totally new take on how Americans should eat to prevent disease and remain healthy. These guidelines were defined by a committee of “experts” from the meat, dairy, and “fad-diet” industries and were to be applied to the five-year period, 2025 to 2030.
Their final recommendations have taken the old food pyramid and turned it upside down. Little-emphasized foods have been given a bigger role in the new guidelines, and lesser recommended foods now receive greater attention.
The greatest attention is paid to limiting the intake of highly-processed foods with added preservatives, and foods with added sugars (cookies, chips, candy) and non-nutritive sweeteners (sodas, fruit drinks, energy drinks).
The new guidelines recommend a high intake of “nutrient-dense minimally processed” foods from both animal and plant sources.
Animal sources include red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and “healthy fats.”
Plant sources include beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds, soy, fruits and vegetables. The goal is to ingest 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
Regarding dairy food intake, milk is limited, but 3 servings a day of “full-fat” dairy products with no added sugars is recommended.
Fruits and vegetables are to be consumed three times a day as well with frozen, canned, or dried varieties acceptable.
Healthy fats mean meat, poultry, eggs, omega-3-rich seafood, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, olive oil for cooking.
Whole grains mean fiber-rich foods 2-4 servings a day.
As mentioned above there was emphasis placed on limiting highly-processed and preservative-containing foods and avoiding added sugar. And limiting saturated fats and alcohol. Also avoiding non-nutrient sweeteners and artificial flavoring.
That’s DrGOpines.com’s take on all this. It has been controversial, to say the least. I really wonder who pays attention to these guidelines other than dieticians and nutritionists. Joe Blow in the Midwest certainly doesn’t. If he wants sausage biscuits and gravy, he eats it. Mickey D’s three times a week is a delicacy. And fruits and vegetable are something you eat when you visit someone else’s house. Still, however, health experts have to recommend guidelines that are intended to help us remain healthy.
But most people do only what they want to.
Reference: Elsayed S, Nelson M. Dietary Guidelines for 2025-2030: Recommendations from the USDA and HHS. Am Fam Phys 2026 July;114(1):98-100.
