New dietary guidelines urge Americans to avoid processed foods and added sugar

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

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins released the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provide updated recommendations for healthy eating and provide the basis for federal nutrition programs and policies. They come as Kennedy has pushed for months to overhaul the U.S. 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 the consumption of fresh vegetables, whole grains and dairy products, which have long been recommended as part of a healthy diet. Officials have released a new chart depicting an inverted version of the long-abandoned food pyramid, with protein, dairy, healthy fats and fruits and vegetables at the top and whole grains at the bottom.

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 sugary foods, such as chips, cookies and candy.” It’s a different term for ultra-processed foods, the ultra-tasty, energy-dense products that account for more than half of the calories in the American diet and have been linked to chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

The new guidelines move away from revoking long-standing advice to limit saturated fats, despite signals from Kennedy and Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary that the administration would push for increased consumption of animal fats to end the “war” on saturated fats.

Instead, the paper suggests that Americans should choose whole-food sources containing saturated fats — such as meat, full-fat dairy, or avocados — while continuing to limit saturated fat intake to no more than 10 percent of daily calories. The guide states that “other options may include butter or beef tallow,” despite previous recommendations to avoid these fats.

The Dietary Guidelines, which are required by law to be updated every five years, provide a blueprint for healthy eating. But in a country where more than half of adults suffer from a diet-related chronic illness, few Americans actually follow the advice, research shows.

The new recommendations have drawn praise from some prominent medical and nutritional experts.

“There should be broad consensus that eating more whole foods and reducing highly processed carbohydrates is a major step forward in how we approach diet and health,” said Dr. David Kessler, a former FDA commissioner who has written books on diet and nutrition and petitioned the FDA to remove key ingredients from ultra-processed foods.

“The guidelines affirm that food is medicine and provide clear guidance that patients and doctors can use to improve their health,” said Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association.

Other experts expressed relief after concerns that the guidelines would run counter to decades of nutritional evidence linking saturated fats to higher LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol and heart disease.

“I guess whoever wrote these guidelines had to admit that the science hasn’t changed,” said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist and food policy expert who advised on previous editions of the guidelines. “They haven’t changed fundamentally, except for the emphasis on eating whole foods.”

The new document is only 10 pages, fulfilling Kennedy’s commitment to creating simple, understandable guidelines. Previous editions of the Dietary Guidelines have expanded over the years, from a 19-page pamphlet in 1980 to the 164-page document published in 2020, which included a four-page summary.

These guidelines will have the most profound effect on the federally funded National School Lunch Program, which must follow guidelines to feed nearly 30 million American children during a typical school day.

The Agriculture Department will have to translate the recommendations into specific requirements for school meals, a process that could take years, said Diane Pratt-Heavner, a spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association. The latest school nutrition standards were proposed in 2023 but will not be fully implemented until 2027, she noted.

The new guidelines ignore the advice of a group of 20 nutrition experts, who met for nearly two years to review the latest scientific evidence on diet and health.

This panel did not make recommendations regarding ultra-processed foods. Although a multitude of studies have shown links between ultra-processed foods and poor health outcomes, nutrition experts were concerned about the quality of the research reviewed and the certainty that these foods, and not other factors, were causing the problems.

Recommendations on highly processed foods received cautiously positive reactions. The FDA and Department of Agriculture are already working on a definition of ultra-processed foods, but that is expected to take time.

Not all highly processed foods are bad for your health, said Dr. David Ludwig, an endocrinologist and researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“I think the focus should be on highly processed carbohydrates,” he said, noting that processing proteins or fats can be harmless or even helpful.

The guidelines made a few other notable changes, including a call to potentially double protein consumption.

The previously recommended dietary intake called for 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or about 54 grams per day for a 150-pound person. The new recommendation is 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. The average American consumes about 100 grams of protein per day, about double the previously recommended limit.

Makary said the new advice replaces advice on protein which was based on the “bare minimum” required for health.

Ludwig also noted that the previous recommendation was for the minimum amount needed to prevent protein deficiency and that higher amounts of protein could be beneficial.

“I think a moderate increase in protein to help replace processed carbohydrates makes sense,” he said.

American Heart Association officials, however, called for more research on protein consumption and the best protein sources for optimal health.

“While we wait for this research, we encourage consumers to prioritize plant-based proteins, seafood and lean meats and limit high-fat animal products, including red meat, butter, lard and tallow, which are linked to increased cardiovascular risk,” the group said in a statement.

The guidelines advise avoiding or severely limiting added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners, saying “no amount” is considered part of a healthy diet.

No meal should contain more than 10 grams of added sugars, or about 2 teaspoons, according to the new guidelines.

Previous federal guidelines recommended limiting added sugars to less than 10% of daily calories for people over age 2, but aiming for less. That’s about 12 teaspoons per day in a 2,000-calorie daily diet. Children under 2 should not consume any added sugar, according to guidelines for older children.

In general, most Americans consume about 17 teaspoons of added sugars per day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new guidelines reverse previous recommendations to limit alcohol to 1 drink or less per day for women and 2 drinks or less per day for men.

Instead, the guidelines advise Americans to “consume less alcohol for better health.” They also say alcohol should be avoided by pregnant women, people recovering from alcohol use disorder and those who are unable to control the amount they drink.

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