Something to Chew On
/The New Dietary Guidelines for Americans
By Scarlett Stussy Chaidez, MCN, RD, LD
photo by shane darby
You may or may not have heard that, in January, the US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services published the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is typically published every five years. This version is for 2025–2030.
As your dietitian for the next few minutes, I’ll walk you through what the dietary guidelines are and what updates were made in this version, along with my thought process as I interpret them.
What are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (or DGAs)?
The DGAs are exactly what they sound like: general guidelines for healthy nutrition recommendations for people in our country based on scientific research. These guidelines also guide policies and inform public programs like school meals, WIC, and nutrition assistance programs. Remember the food pyramid from the 1990s or the “MyPlate” visual depicting a dinner plate sectioned off into four quadrants with a cup of milk next to it? Those were based on the DGAs.
Major changes and what to make of them
Previous guidelines have used visuals to help Americans understand the basic recommendations without having to read the hundreds of pages within the DGAs. This year, the food pyramid visual was resurrected—but surprisingly flipped upside down. They did this to make a few points:
Emphasis on “whole” foods: There is a strong emphasis on “real” whole foods (encouraging minimally-processed foods like fruits, vegetables, and meats, while limiting ultra-processed foods and foods with added sugars, like packaged and convenience items). While most Americans can definitely benefit from more fresh food, “processed” foods can play an equally important role in nourishment on a more practical level; think dried or pre-cut fruits, protein bars, packaged oatmeal, and canned beans or lentils. Without these options, eating at home would be much more difficult—especially if someone doesn’t know their way around the kitchen or has limited time.
Higher protein recommendations: The new DGAs increased the protein recommendation to 1.2–1.6 g/kg of body weight per day, which is a 50–200% increase from previous recommendations. In practice, of all potential nutrient deficiencies, protein is one of the least common. The new DGAs also recommend focusing more on animal proteins and full-fat dairy to provide that protein, so the new inverted pyramid places proteins and dairy prominently in the top half of the largest section of the pyramid. While animal proteins are typically more easily digested and provide nutrients like B12 and iron that are harder to get from other sources, people forget that plants—like beans, nuts, and soy—also provide protein and come with other benefits (like fiber, which most of my clients severely lack). Further, red meat and full-fat dairy contain significant amounts of saturated fat, and the new DGAs still recommend that overall saturated fat intake remain below 10% of daily calories. For most people, meeting these conflicting recommendations simultaneously would be challenging.
Stricter limits on sugar and sugar-substitutes: The new DGAs recommend avoiding added sugar (meaning sugar that is not naturally in a food but added via table sugar, syrup, honey, etc.) and to limit non-nutritive sweeteners (like Splenda, Stevia, etc.). However, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “evidence to date indicates [non-nutritive sweeteners] are generally considered safe within acceptable intake limits.”
Whole grains: With grains placed in the bottom section at the point of the pyramid, the visual suggests that grains should be minimized. However, the written recommendations still encourage two to four servings of whole grains daily, which is just one serving fewer than the previous recommendation of three to five servings per day.
The President of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (which is the governing body for registered dietitians) stated, “Some of the recommendations in the DGAs are not aligned with the current body of evidence and will create challenges for implementation. Registered Dietitian(s)... play a critical role in applying the DGAs in ways that protect public health and meet the needs of a broad spectrum of populations. However, elements of this version of the guidelines will make that work difficult.”
A major eyebrow-raising point is the length of this version of the guidelines. Previous DGAs have been well over 100 pages long and provided research and scientific reasoning to back their recommendations. This year’s version of the document, however, is only nine pages. I don’t know about you, but I was always taught in school to show my work.
What stayed the same
Even though the visual seems like a radical change, since it was literally flipped on its head and its emphasis points were changed, many of the core nutrition principles actually remain very consistent to previous guidelines and what we’ve been preaching for decades. If you’ve ever taken a nutrition class or met with a dietitian before, most of this will sound very familiar:
Eat fruits and vegetables regularly
Include whole grains and legumes (like oats, wild rice, beans, and chickpeas)
Choose mostly unsaturated fats (like nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oil)
Limit sodium, added sugars, and saturated fat
Emphasize variety and balance of nutrients above any single food item or supplement
Maintain healthy lifestyle habits (like adequate sleep, physical activity, and stress management)
Whether it’s depicted via the food wheel, food pyramid, or MyPlate, these recommendations have always been the center of the conversation.
What do I do with this information?
While the DGAs change their visuals or adjust their emphasis every five years, the bulk of the message stays the same. Further, specific nutrition recommendations for health concerns, family risk factors, and other individual elements aren’t in the DGAs anyway; that’s where dietitians come in. We personalize nutrition recommendations for the individual by considering their daily lifestyle, health concerns, financial limitations, food preferences, cultural backgrounds, and relationships with food.
At the end of the day, the DGA recommendations (this version or the next) should be taken with a grain of salt—or a bushel of carrots.
Scarlett Stussy Chaidez, MCN, RD, LD, is a senior dietitian at Doherty Nutrition in Fort Worth, Texas. She was raised in Texarkana by parents in the medical field and saw firsthand how science can help people. As a dietitian, Scarlett uses her love of the culinary arts and her knowledge of evidence-based science to inform her care while treating clients who have prediabetes, diabetes, and cardiovascular concerns.
Interested in working with a dietitian like Scarlett? Visit Doherty Nutrition to see if your insurance will cover a telehealth visit with Doherty Nutrition.