The Trump administration’s new diet guide reverses the food pyramid for Americans to eat more protein

Americans should eat more whole foods and proteins, less highly processed foods and less added sugar, according to the latest version of federal nutrition advice released Wednesday by the Trump administration.

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued US Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2025-2030Which provide updated recommendations for healthy diets and provide the basis for federal nutrition programs and policies. They come as Kennedy has for months emphasized improving the US food supply as part of his Make America Healthy Again agenda.

“Our message is clear: eat real food,” Kennedy told reporters at a White House briefing.

The guidelines emphasize consumption of fresh vegetables, whole grains and dairy products, which have long been advised as part of a healthy eating plan.

But they also take a new stance on “highly processed” foods and refined carbohydrates, urging consumers to avoid “packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat or other salty or sweet foods, such as chips, cookies and candy.” It’s a different term for ultra-processed foods, the super-tasty, energy-dense products that make up more than half the calories in the American diet and are linked to chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity.

Despite signals from Kennedy and Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Macri that the administration would push for greater consumption of animal fats to end the “war” on saturated fats, the new guidance stops short of rescinding long-standing advice to limit saturated fats.

Instead, the document suggests that Americans should choose whole food sources of saturated fat — such as meat, full-fat dairy or avocados — while limiting saturated fat consumption to no more than 10 percent of daily calories. “Other options may include butter or beef fat,” the guidance says, despite previous recommendations to avoid those fats.

Guidelines were due for update

The Dietary Guidelines, which are required by law to be updated every five years, provide a template for a healthy diet. But in a country where more than half of adults have a diet-related chronic disease, research shows that few Americans actually follow the guidance.

The new recommendations received praise from some leading nutrition experts.

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler, who has written books about diet and nutrition and sent a petition to the FDA to remove key ingredients in ultra-processed foods, said, “There should be widespread agreement that eating more whole foods and reducing highly processed carbohydrates is a major advancement in dietary and health approaches.”

Others expressed relief after concerns that the guidelines would go against decades of nutrition evidence linking saturated fat to high LDL or “bad” cholesterol and heart disease.

Look Ways to cut down on ultra-processed food:

What would it take for Canadians to eat less ultra-processed foods?

Ultra-processed foods aren’t good for your health, but they are cheap, easy to prepare, and shelf stable. CBC’s Jennifer Yoon explains why it’s hard to stop eating them and what Canada can do to help you consume less of them.

“I think whoever is writing these has to acknowledge that the science has not changed,” said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist and food policy expert who advised previous versions of the guidelines. “They haven’t changed in any fundamental way other than the emphasis on eating whole foods.”

The new document is only 10 pages long, maintaining Kennedy’s pledge to create a simple, understandable guideline. Previous versions of the Dietary Guidelines have varied over the years, from a 19-page pamphlet in 1980 to a 164-page document released in 2020, which included a four-page executive summary.

The guidance will have the deepest impact on the federally funded national school lunch program, which is required to follow the guidelines to feed nearly 30 million American children on a typical school day.