{"id":64851,"date":"2025-06-02T01:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T08:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=64851"},"modified":"2025-06-01T22:30:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T05:30:39","slug":"everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Know About the Dietary Guidelines Is Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/div>

In April, two weeks after being sworn in as the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Marty Makary sat down for an interview<\/a> with conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly. Over the course of an hour, the food pyramid came up several times. <\/p><\/div>

\n

\u201cAre we redoing the food pyramid?\u201d Kelly asked, in one exchange.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re redoing the food pyramid,\u201d Makary confirmed, with gusto.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank God!\u201d Kelly replied.<\/p>\n

However, the food pyramid\u2014once used as a visual aid<\/a> to convey the federal government\u2019s dietary guidelines to Americans\u2014was retired in 2011<\/a>, nearly 15 years ago. In addition, the FDA is not in charge of developing those guidelines. Every five years, an office within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), called the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update and release them.<\/p>\n

The exchange on the podcast episode is one of many examples of how most Americans might be unfamiliar with the details of the dietary guidelines<\/a>. And while the Trump administration is promising to completely overhaul them, misinformation about what the guidelines say and the process that creates them is only getting worse.<\/p>\n

One thing is clear: Given the high rates of diet-related diseases in the U.S., a lot is at stake in this update of the dietary guidelines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now in the driver\u2019s seat when it comes to developing the 2025 guidelines, due out later this year. Kennedy is passionate about encouraging Americans to eat healthier and has said he\u2019s expediting the process as a result. In the past, however, he has expressed support for dietary advice that does not align with the current scientific consensus\u2014like cutting out seed oils<\/a> and subbing in beef tallow<\/a>\u2014and many are worried the guidelines will be altered to fit those beliefs.<\/p>\n

One thing is clear: Given the high rates<\/a> of diet-related diseases in the U.S., a lot is at stake.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese science-based recommendations aren’t just the nutrition guidance that doctors are giving patients or that policymakers are using in this way that maybe affects your life every once in a while,\u201d said Grace Chamberlin, a policy associate at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) who focuses specifically on the federal dietary guidelines. \u201cThey are actually directly impacting the food that is offered in programs that serve 1 in 4 Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Broad Reach of the Dietary Guidelines<\/h4>\n<\/div>

Chamberlin was referring to food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and school meals. <\/p><\/div>

\n

While altering the dietary guidelines does not trigger immediate changes to those programs, federal employees rely on the guidelines when they update related regulations.<\/p>\n

For example, Kennedy and his allies have repeatedly<\/a> announced<\/a> their desire to use the guidelines to improve the nutrition of school meals. That\u2019s possible because in 2010 President Barack Obama, with the help of first lady Michelle Obama\u2019s advocacy, signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law. The law required school meal standards to reflect the dietary guidelines and led to more than a decade of rulemaking<\/a> at the USDA to make that happen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The guidelines also inform the Thrifty Food Plan, which the USDA uses to determine how much money<\/a> a typical family would need to maintain a healthy diet. The Plan informs SNAP benefit amounts.<\/p>\n

Experts said dieticians and other healthcare professionals also use the guidelines when working with patients, and Chamberlin said their influence may be even broader. \u201cThey can be a huge leverage point for increasing nutrition and nutrition awareness in the population, but also changing what we grow in this country, how our food system works, and what our food system prioritizes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

How the Dietary Guidelines Are Created<\/h4>\n<\/div>

In May, in two separate appearances in front of Congressional committees, Kennedy said his HHS is rewriting guidelines passed down by the Biden administration. \u201cThe dietary guidelines that President Biden gave us are 453 pages long,\u201d he told senators. <\/p><\/div>

\n

In fact, the last edition, the 2020 dietary guidelines<\/a>, came out during Trump\u2019s first term. Under Biden, employees at HHS and the USDA started the process of developing the 2025 guidelines. They formed the scientific advisory committee, which is tasked with reviewing new evidence and then delivering a scientific report the agencies use to write the guidelines.<\/p>\n

The document Kennedy was likely referring to is that report<\/a>, which was delivered to HHS and the USDA last December. Over the course of two years, 20 experts volunteered their time to review new scientific evidence on specific topics of interest identified by the agencies.<\/p>\n

At a food policy event at lobbying firm ArentFox Schiff<\/a> in April, the staff members overseeing the process at the federal agencies said that the committee completed 28 systematic reviews and reviewed almost 2,000 new scientific articles in addition to analyzing many other sources of data during that time.<\/p>\n

Teresa Fung, a professor of nutrition at Simmons University and adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, served on the committee. Fung said that during the busiest time, she was volunteering up to 10 hours a week reviewing data.<\/p>\n

After the scientific advisory committee delivers its report, HHS and the USDA begin to write the actual guidelines. The agencies swap leadership of the process each time the guidelines are renewed; this time, HHS\u2014and Kennedy\u2014are in charge.<\/p>\n

Typically, staff members write the guidelines and then share them with the secretaries, who have final say. But no HHS Secretary has ever criticized the guidelines or promised to alter the structure in such a significant way, and it\u2019s unclear if the customary protocol is being followed. When asked about the process by an audience member at the ArentFox event, all that HHS staff would say was that they\u2019re \u201cworking closely\u201d with the new leadership.<\/p>\n

Corporate Influence Over the Dietary Guidelines<\/h4>\n<\/div>

During the hearings, Kennedy also told lawmakers that the document he received from the Biden administration\u2014likely the scientific advisory committee report\u2014was \u201cclearly written by industry.\u201d The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Report released at the end of May<\/a> says the guidelines have a history \u201cof being unduly influenced by corporate interests,\u201d and cites a 2022 study<\/a> that found that 95 percent of the 20 advisory committee members in 2020 had ties to the food industry. Most had multiple relationships; only one had none. (Reporting has since found<\/a> several errors with the MAHA Commission citations.) <\/p><\/div>

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Food companies have long attempted to influence<\/a> the guidelines, and over the past several decades, the number of committee members with food industry ties grew. However, an analysis<\/a> of the current 2025 committee, done by advocacy organization U.S. Right to Know (USRTK), found that this time around, only nine of 20 members had significant food industry links. USRTK identified no industry ties for seven members, which they described as \u201csigns of progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to criticism, the USDA and HHS also made changes to increase transparency, although mandatory disclosure of conflicts of interest is still not required.<\/p>\n

Chamberlin said that the committee\u2019s work is now the most transparent part of the process. \u201cIf that whole group gets together, it has to be a public meeting. If more than a few of them are talking, it has to be viewed by the public. They have to post their protocols. They have to post their preliminary findings. They have to post their final report publicly,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat’s not as transparent is the stage we’re in right now, which is where the secretaries are actually writing the guidelines. Historically, that’s when interference has come into play.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, the 2015 committee recommended stronger language on cutting back on red meat and processed meats that was ultimately not included in the guidelines<\/a> written by the agencies, after significant lobbying by the meat industry<\/a> and Congressional pushback led by Republicans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat’s not as transparent is the stage we’re in right now, which is where the secretaries are actually writing the guidelines. Historically, that’s when interference has come into play.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This January, with the advisory committee report in hand, HHS and USDA employees held a public meeting to take comments on the report before they began the process of writing the actual guidelines.<\/p>\n

Seventy-nine individuals spoke at the meeting<\/a>, including plenty of concerned private citizens and advocates for healthy eating. But 32 of the speakers, about 40 percent, had obvious, direct links to the food industry. Meat companies sent the most representatives by far: 15 of the speakers represented beef, egg, dairy, and other meat interests.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the Beef Checkoff and the National Cattlemen\u2019s Beef Association (NCBA), a contractor to the Checkoff, both spoke, and the NCBA also submitted written comments of its own<\/a> and on behalf of<\/a> the Beef Checkoff. In its comments, the organization pushed back hard on provisions in the guidelines that might recommend swapping in beans, peas, and lentils for servings of red meat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis substitution, and the anti-red meat language scattered throughout the report, is nonsensical given beef\u2019s proven nutritional value and clear place in a healthy diet,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n

Similar Nutrition Controversies, New Attention<\/h4>\n<\/div>

Meat companies have long held sway in D.C., but they might be sensing that this time around, they\u2019ve got an even bigger chance to log some wins. <\/p><\/div>

\n

One of the longest-running disagreements in nutrition is the role of red meat, and particularly saturated fat, in healthy diets. Trendy high-meat diets are continually rebranded\u2014Atkins became South Beach became Paleo became Keto and Whole 30\u2014but all the while, most nutrition scientists maintain that the body of evidence shows limiting red meat and saturated fat is a healthier dietary pattern for most people.<\/p>\n

Harvard professor Fung was part of the chronic disease subcommittee tasked with looking at evidence on this front. Rather than just focusing on reducing red meat, the researchers tackled a specific, more nuanced question. Because every dietary choice involves a swap, cutting a serving of red meat might mean adding a serving of chicken or fish or beans. So, they wanted to know: Does the substitute matter? For instance, is tofu a better choice than beef but not as good as fish?<\/p>\n

What they found is that any<\/em> swap in place of red meat produces a health benefit in terms of reducing heart-disease risk. That led to one of the December report\u2019s most significant recommendations: Change the guidelines to promote more plant protein and less animal protein, especially red meat and processed meats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not mean that somebody cannot eat red meat at all,\u201d Fung said. \u201cBut if you look at the science, the good science especially, what it is pointing towards is plant protein.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is an entire world of health-conscious people, however, who believe that conclusion is wrong and point to high-meat diets<\/a> as the best solution for weight loss and chronic disease prevention. Many of those people are prominent in Kennedy\u2019s MAHA movement: At a MAHA roundtable last fall, podcaster Mikhaila Fuller talked about curing her multiple health issues through an all-red-meat diet, which she now promotes as The Lion Diet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the launch of the MAHA Institute in May, Montana rancher Bryan Mussard told attendees he\u2019d been talking to Kennedy since last summer about the topic. \u201cI sent him so many text messages and emails on saturated fat that when I met him for the first time last September, I just introduced myself as \u2018saturated fat,\u2019 and he knew who I was,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There is an entire world of health-conscious people, who believe recommendations to eat more plant-based proteins are wrong; they point to high-meat diets as the best solution for weight loss and chronic disease prevention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Seed oils present a similar challenge. Many in the MAHA movement, including Kennedy himself, have pointed to seed oils\u2014soybean, corn, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, and canola\u2014as a likely cause of various health issues. The MAHA Commission Report cites as potentially problematic the change from animal-based sources of fat like butter and lard toward industrially produced seed oils.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustrial refining reduces micronutrients, such as vitamin E and phytosterols. Moreover, these oils contribute to an imbalanced omega-6\/omega-3 ratio, a topic of ongoing research for its potential role in inflammation,\u201d it reads. Nearly all experts agree that American diets contain too much omega-6 vs. omega-3 oils and that minimal processing of oils is better, but mainstream nutritionists say the science isn\u2019t there to warn against seed oils specifically.<\/p>\n

Nutrition professor and author Marion Nestle, who served on the 1995 committee and has been a frequent critic of the guidelines since, wrote recently<\/a> that while it seems like a given that Americans consume seed oils in excess, in fried and junk foods, \u201cI cannot find convincing data that seed oils are any worse for health than any other high-calorie food, and the evidence for their benefits as compared to animal fats seems strong and consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most anticipated aspect of the guidelines is what, if anything, they\u2019ll say about ultra-processed foods. Of all the MAHA movement\u2019s goals, Kennedy has pushed hardest, so far, on getting additives<\/a> out of the food supply and focusing attention on ultra-processed foods<\/a> as a primary source of Americans\u2019 poor health.<\/p>\n

His focus has been so intense that the leading researcher, Kevin Hall, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who was responsible for establishing some of the strongest evidence of ultra-processed foods\u2019 health harms, left the agency<\/a> because he felt like Kennedy\u2019s HHS wouldn\u2019t allow him to communicate unbiased study results unless they continued to back that conclusion up, regardless of what the research found. (HHS spokespeople have disputed his assertion.)<\/p>\n

According to the law, changes to the dietary guidelines must be based on what is called a \u201cpreponderance of evidence.\u201d The committee conducted a systematic review of research on the relationship between eating ultra-processed foods and risk of weight gain and obesity. The researchers did conclude that diets high in ultra-processed foods were associated with more body fat, higher body mass indexes, and a higher risk of obesity in adults, with a similar finding for children.<\/p>\n

But it rated the evidence as \u201climited.\u201d Since that didn\u2019t meet the standard of a \u201cpreponderance of evidence,\u201d the committee declined to recommend limits on ultra-processed foods in the guidelines.<\/p>\n

Fung said that makes sense, since the definition of ultra-processed foods<\/a> was only developed in 2009. In her mind, it still needs work. And these changes take time: It took ages for nutrition science to evolve to recognize healthy fats instead of cautioning against all fat in the diet, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a hot-button topic, and people want answers,\u201d CSPI\u2019s Chamberlin said. \u201cWe want to know what\u2019s going on and what\u2019s making us sick. But honestly, the advisory committee not being able to put forth a strong recommendation is a testament to how scientifically rigorous their process is. Their guidance can only be as strong as the underlying science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not everyone agrees with that. Nestle, for one, who is also a stickler about the science, thinks<\/a> it\u2019s high time to tell Americans to eat fewer ultra-processed foods.<\/p>\n

Either way, members of the Trump administration have mischaracterized how the advisory committee evaluated ultra-professed foods\u2014and how the current guidelines currently handle them. In the Megyn Kelly interview, for example, Makary said, \u201cNo longer are we going to say, \u2018You have these calories, it doesn\u2019t matter how you get them, it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s all ultra-processed foods.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not need the term ultra-processed to help us differentiate between healthy versus unhealthy foods.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In fact, the 2020 guidelines recommended \u201cnutrient-dense\u201d foods, which means it\u2019s not just calories that matter.<\/p>\n

In the end, Fung said the best dietary advice hasn\u2019t changed much over time. Based on the review, she\u2019d give this advice: \u201cEat more fruits and vegetables, whole grains. Eat a wide variety of foods. Mostly plant-based, especially the proteins, and choose whole foods and minimally processed [foods].\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2014and pretty much any nutrition expert\u2014will recommend sticking most to whole and minimally processed foods. \u201cWe do not need the term ultra-processed to help us differentiate between healthy versus unhealthy foods,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Kennedy and those around him see it differently. They want to emphasize the ultra-processed nature of the foods. \u201cUltra-processed food is comprised of three ingredients primarily that did not exist 120 years ago,\u201d said Kennedy advisor Calley Means at the MAHA Institute launch, citing refined grains, added sugar, and seed oils.<\/p>\n

Some experts, including Nestle, disagree with many of the nitty-gritty details but understand where the arguments and frustration are coming from: She\u2019s been pointing to corporate influence on dietary advice for decades, while others have documented how a food system driven by corporate profit<\/a> transformed the way Americans eat<\/a> in less than a century<\/a>, while chronic disease rates ticked up.<\/p>\n

It can start to feel like splitting hairs, but the tension between what conclusions can be drawn from the observable reality at hand, the scientific evidence available, and the desire to make change right away has existed for as long as nutrition has been studied. It\u2019s hard to do controlled trials that isolate what humans eat. It\u2019s hard to boil down complicated studies into simple advice on which foods to eat for optimal health. Kennedy doesn\u2019t seem to agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to have four-page dietary guidelines that tell people, essentially, \u2018Eat whole food,\u2019 \u201d he told members of Congress in May. \u201c \u2018Eat the food that\u2019s good for you.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAre we redoing the food pyramid?\u201d Kelly asked, in one exchange. \u201cWe\u2019re redoing the food pyramid,\u201d Makary confirmed, with gusto. \u201cThank God!\u201d Kelly replied. However, the food pyramid\u2014once used as a visual aid to convey the federal government\u2019s dietary guidelines to Americans\u2014was retired in 2011, nearly 15 years ago. In addition, the FDA is not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":740,"featured_media":64864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4343,3264],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4440],"class_list":["post-64851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-policy","category-nutrition"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWill the Dietary Guidelines Get the MAHA Treatment? | Civil Eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Under RFK Jr., HHS has begun updating the nutritional guidelines, but with MAHA involved, concerns about misinformation and confusion abound.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Everything You Know About the Dietary Guidelines Is Wrong\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Under RFK Jr., HHS has begun updating the nutritional guidelines, but with MAHA involved, concerns about misinformation and confusion abound.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Civil Eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-02T08:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/250602-everything-you-know-about-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Held\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lisaelaineh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CivilEats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Held\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Held\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/981da1570dfae1a2f01ec1130cd7e919\"},\"headline\":\"Everything You Know About the Dietary Guidelines Is Wrong\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-02T08:00:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/\"},\"wordCount\":2874,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/250602-everything-you-know-about-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Food Policy\",\"Nutrition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2025\/06\/02\/everything-you-know-about-the-dietary-guidelines-is-wrong\/\",\"name\":\"Will the Dietary Guidelines Get the MAHA Treatment? 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