The “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030” were released on Jan. 7 by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS), marking a significant departure from decades of federal nutrition policy.
Updated every five years, the guidelines shape how medical professionals counsel patients, how schools design meal programs, and how federal agencies craft public health policy. They are intended to reduce the risk of diet-related chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular illness, while helping Americans make healthier food choices.
The new guidelines take the iconic 1992 food pyramid — which visually prioritized food groups and their proportions — and flips it upside-down: Meats, cheese, and vegetables are featured in the pyramid’s broad top level, while grains, formerly the dietary foundation of the pyramid, are moved to the bottom. (The 1992 pyramid was replaced by MyPlate in 2011, a colorful plateful of food groups to grab consumer’s attention, which updated USDA dietary recommendations, including increased daily servings of fruits and vegetables.)
The current makeover to the guidelines highlight “real food”, defined as whole forms of protein and produce, or prepared items with minimal ingredients. For the first time, federal nutritional policy explicitly directs Americans to avoid ultra-processed foods, such as packaged cookies, chips, and candy — linked to chronic diseases like cancer and obesity. Consumers are also advised to steer clear of potentially carcinogenic synthetic food additives, like artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners.
The shift, however, has drawn criticism from several medical organizations, including the American Heart Association (AHA), which argues that the guidelines prioritize foods high in saturated fat, such as red meat and full-fat dairy, despite decades of research linking excessive saturated fat intake to cardiovascular disease.
Those recommendations diverge from guidance issued by the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), an independent panel of experts who provide science-based evidence to the USDA and HHS. The committee emphasized the nutritional value of plant-based proteins (like beans and peas) over animal-based sources, advice that is omitted from the guidelines. The use of seed oils like canola, high in heart-protective essential fatty acids, are omitted, too. (HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has associated seed oil consumption with the rise in chronic health conditions, an opinion not supported by medical research.)
The current dietary guidelines maintain the saturated fat limit of less than 10% of the total daily calories. But a majority of Americans already exceed that amount, and with good reason: The 10% cap is reached or exceeded with just one pat of butter, a slice of pizza, or a bowl of ice cream.
Recent research has contradicted full-fat milk’s association with heart disease: A December 2025 study in The Journal of Nutrition found that whole-fat dairy prevented coronary artery calcification, thus reducing heart attack risk — findings echoed by a growing body of research. This led to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, signed into federal law in January; schools are now allowed to offer a full-fat dairy option.
Persistent conflicting data, (such as an October 2025 investigation published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition linking whole milk to a higher risk of heart disease and all-cause mortality), prompted the DGAC to leave the dietary guidelines unchanged, and advised the USDA and HHS to continue promoting the consumption of “unsweetened fat-free and low-fat milk across the lifespan,” — a recommendation echoed by the AHA. This recommendation was not in the new guidelines.
The new food pyramid prioritizes vegetables and fruits; whole grains and plant-based proteins, (like legumes and nuts), proven to lower cancer risk, body inflammation, and heart disease — are in the lowest priority food groups.
Finally, Americans are advised to “consume less alcohol,” despite increasing evidence that no amount of alcohol is safe to consume.
Dr. Mary Jenkins, a contributor to the Herald and member of its board of directors, retired after nearly 40 years as a family practice physician in New York state
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly suggested that a cup of whole milk would, on its own, exceed the recommended limit for saturated fat. In fact, a cup of whole milk contains about 4.5 to 5 grams of saturated fat. On a 2,000-calorie diet, the latest Dietary Guidelines’ 10% limit corresponds to roughly 22 grams of saturated fat per day.