US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. unveiled new dietary guidelines that urge Americans to eat more protein while limiting highly processed foods and added sugars.
The guidelines, issued every five years by the Departments of Agriculture and the Departments of Health and Human Services, also suggest three servings of full-fat dairy products per day and loosen restrictions on alcoholic beverages.
These guidelines serve as the basis for federal nutrition programs, including school nutrition programs, and the new programs have received mixed reviews from experts.
“My message is clear: Eat real food,” Kennedy said at a White House news conference on Wednesday.
In general, the recommendations call for eating protein, full-fat dairy, fiber-rich whole grains, and fruits and vegetables, while avoiding sugar and highly processed foods, including packaged snacks such as chips, cookies and candy.
The focus on full-fat dairy products marks a shift from earlier recommendations that suggested low-fat or low-fat dairy products to help Americans limit their intake of saturated fat.
He recommends cooking with oils such as olive, but suggests beef tallow, a Kennedy favorite that is high in saturated fat, as an alternative.
The new guidelines also change long-standing daily drinking limits, which previously were no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. Instead, Americans are now advised to drink “less alcohol to improve overall health” without any specific restrictions.
The guidelines recommend that some people avoid drinking alcohol altogether, including pregnant women, people recovering from an alcohol use disorder or people who are struggling to control their consumption, and those taking medications for which drinking may have negative effects.
The overall changes were welcomed by some medical experts, including the American Medical Association, which has criticized several of Kennedy's moves since he took office.
The association's president welcomed recommendations to limit highly processed foods, sweetened drinks and excess sodium, which “fuel heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases.”
“The guidelines reaffirm that food is medicine and offer clear guidance patients and doctors can use to improve their health,” Bobby Mukkamala said in a statement.
But other nutrition experts criticized other elements of the new guidelines, including the endorsement of red meat and full-fat dairy products.
Marion Nestle, a former professor of nutrition at New York University, said the suggestion to eat more protein “doesn't make sense” because she said Americans already consume enough.
“With the exception of great advice on cutting down on highly processed foods, which weren't particularly common back then, these recommendations harken back to the diets of the 1950s, when everyone ate a lot of meat and dairy and didn't worry too much about vegetables, and heart disease was rampant,” she said.
The American Heart Association said in a statement that it welcomed the inclusion of several recommendations, such as an emphasis on eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
But it added: “We are concerned that recommendations regarding salty seasonings and red meat consumption may inadvertently lead consumers to exceed recommended limits for sodium and saturated fat, which are major contributors to cardiovascular disease.”
During the election campaign, Kennedy promised to fight obesity and chronic disease, which are one of his main issues.
Since taking office, he has attempted to curb the use of artificial food colors and made sweeping changes to U.S. vaccine policy that have raised alarms among health experts.
