The 2025 Dietary Guidelines have just been released, and they put more emphasis on including red meat and fat in the food Americans eat.
The guidelines, which will remain in effect until 2030, are primarily the brainchild of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS publishes recommendations jointly with the US Department of Agriculture.
Kennedy said previous versions of the guidelines were too complex and did not take into account the interests of Americans.
In an attempt to simplify the recommendations, Kennedy's department created a high-tech presentation that included animated graphics and very little text. The document can be found Here.
In announcing the new recommendations, HHS said a new approach to healthy eating is needed to reduce illness and lower health care costs.
“Every American deserves to be healthy, but too many Americans are sick and don't know why. It's because their government is unwilling to tell them the truth. For decades, the U.S. government has recommended and promoted low-quality, highly processed foods and drug interventions instead of prevention,” HHS said in a statement.
“The new dietary guidelines call for prioritizing high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and avoiding highly processed foods and refined carbohydrates.”
Since they were first published in 1980, dietary guidelines have stated that eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats is the best way to stay healthy. Guidelines have historically recommended limiting fat and processed foods.
In his new recommendations, Kennedy promotes consumption of red meat, eggs, whole dairy products, butter and beef tallow, which the American Heart Association and other medical groups say contribute to heart disease and other health problems.
In announcing the new rules, HHS said it was “promoting real food.”
“The Dietary Guidelines provide a holistic nutrition framework designed to be tailored to individuals and families and their needs, preferences, and financial status,” according to HHS.
Specific guidance includes:
- Protein priority: This includes a variety of animal sources, including eggs, poultry, seafood and red meat, as well as plant-based protein foods such as beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds and soy.
- Avoid highly processed foods: The guidelines urge to “avoid highly processed packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat foods or other salty or sweet foods” and “avoid sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks.”
- Avoiding Added Sugar: The guidance states: “No amount of added sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners is recommended or considered part of a healthy or nutritious diet” and urges parents to avoid added sugar entirely for children aged four years and under.
- Ending the war on healthy fats: The guidelines encourage getting the majority of your fats from whole food sources, such as meat, poultry, eggs, omega-3-rich seafood, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy, olives and avocados. When cooking or adding fat to food, recommendations call for the most nutritious natural foods with essential fatty acids, such as olive oil.
- By eating whole grains and avoiding refined carbohydrates: The guidelines include a strong stance to “prioritize fiber-rich whole grains” and “significantly reduce your intake of highly processed, refined carbohydrates such as white bread, ready-to-eat or packaged breakfast options, flour tortillas and crackers.”
- Incorporating a low-carb diet to treat chronic conditions: The guide provides evidence-based, common-sense recommendations that people with certain chronic diseases can improve their health outcomes by following a low-carbohydrate diet.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) had mixed reactions to the new recommendations. The consumer advocacy group said it was good news that the guidelines continued previous versions that maintained longstanding limits on saturated fat and sodium, emphasized fruits, vegetables, whole foods and water, and limited added sugar.
However, the CSPI said the new guidelines' promotion of sources of saturated fats such as butter and beef tallow for cooking, red meat and other animal proteins, and full-fat dairy products is harmful to human health and the environment. The group also said it was bad news that the new guidelines lacked key science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, such as prioritizing plant-based proteins and emphasizing the need to reduce sodium in our diets and foods.
“While the meat and dairy industries may be excited about these changes, consumers should not be. One thing remains clear: these new dietary recommendations should have been based on high-quality scientific evidence, not trends, industry interests, or changing cultural ideas about 'health,'” CSPI said.
