The Trump administration has released new Dietary Guidelines for Americans that prioritize protein and whole foods while explicitly warning against highly processed products.
The guidelines, promoted at realfood.gov, are the most significant reset of U.S. nutrition advice in decades.
Key recommendations include increased protein intake to 1.2–1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight daily, nearly double the previous 0.8 gram recommendation, paired with explicit guidance to consume protein at every meal from sources including red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and plant-based options.
Experts note most Americans already consume adequate protein, with average intakes near 100 grams daily for men, nearly double previous recommendations. Critics question whether further increases benefit the general population or primarily serve meat industry interests. The advisory committee had recommended prioritizing plant-based proteins, but the final guidelines emphasize animal sources equally.
The protein recommendation increase aligns with emerging research suggesting the previous 0.8 g/kg standard represented only the minimum to prevent deficiency, not optimal intake. Studies indicate that 1.2–1.6 g/kg better supports muscle maintenance, particularly for aging populations vulnerable to sarcopenia. The guidelines’ protein targets match recommendations for older adults and active individuals from institutions like UCLA Health and Mayo Clinic.
The guidelines also endorse full-fat dairy products, previously discouraged, and encourage healthy fats from whole foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, and even beef tallow.
While the guidelines maintain the 10% cap on saturated fats, they simultaneously promote full-fat dairy and red meat, creating what critics call contradictory messaging.
“We see an important opportunity to educate consumers about the scientific basis for certain recommendations,” the American Heart Association wrote in a statement. “For example, we are concerned that recommendations regarding salt seasoning and red meat consumption could inadvertently lead consumers to exceed recommended limits for sodium and saturated fats, which are primary drivers of cardiovascular disease. While the guidelines highlight whole-fat dairy, the Heart Association encourages consumption of low-fat and fat-free dairy products, which can be beneficial to heart health.”
The guidelines also target highly processed foods for the first time in the program’s 45-year history. The realfood.gov site warns that 90% of U.S. healthcare spending goes toward treating chronic diseases linked to diet and lifestyle, blaming “decades of misguided guidance that prioritized highly-processed food.” The guidelines advise Americans to avoid products containing artificial flavors, petroleum-based dyes, artificial preservatives, and low-calorie non-nutritive sweeteners, while specifically calling out sugar-sweetened beverages, packaged snacks, and refined carbohydrates.
“The American Heart Association welcomes the new dietary guidelines and commends the inclusion of several important science-based recommendations, notably the emphasis on increasing intake of vegetables, fruits and whole grains while limiting consumption of added sugars, refined grains, highly processed foods, saturated fats and sugary drinks. These elements align closely with the longstanding dietary guidance of the American Heart Association and other public health authorities.”
Americans currently derive over 55-60% of their calories from ultra-processed products, while fewer than 10% consume the recommended amount of vegetables. The guidelines’ call for three daily vegetable servings and two fruit servings reflects evidence that whole produce provides fiber, micronutrients, and phytochemicals that are not found in processed alternatives.
Multiple large-scale studies have linked ultra-processed food consumption to increased risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and all-cause mortality. A comprehensive umbrella review published in The BMJ found associations between ultra-processed foods and 32 adverse health outcomes, including convincing evidence for cardiovascular disease mortality and highly suggestive evidence for all-cause mortality and type 2 diabetes.
“The American Medical Association (AMA) applauds the Administration’s new Dietary Guidelines for spotlighting the highly processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and excess sodium that fuel heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other chronic illnesses,” Bobby Mukkamala, MD, President of the American Medical Association wrote in a statement. “The Guidelines affirm that food is medicine and offer clear direction patients and physicians can use to improve health.”
Despite these evidence-based elements, the guidelines have drawn criticism for departing from their own scientific advisory committee’s recommendations. The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a 20-person panel of nutrition experts convened under President Biden, submitted a 400-page scientific report in December 2024 that emphasized plant-based proteins, recommended limiting red and processed meat, and declined to issue specific guidance on ultra-processed foods due to definitional challenges.
The guidelines carry significant weight, setting standards for 16 federal nutrition programs affecting one in four Americans, including school lunches, WIC, and SNAP benefits.
