The Trump administration on Wednesday urged Americans to avoid highly processed foods along with added sugars while touting consumption of red meat and full-fat dairy, foods many nutritionists had previously discouraged.
The new federal nutritional guidelines emphasize protein more than previous recommendations, releasing a flipped-pyramid graphic that places meat, dairy and healthy fats on the same tier as vegetables and fruits, with fiber-rich whole grains like oats at the bottom tip.
Reaction from nutritionists and public health advocates was mixed: the advice to cut sugar and processed foods was a positive, but the emphasis on animal protein and full-fat dairy was “contradictory.”
“I found the whole thing to be muddled, contradictory, ideological and very retro,” said Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition at New York University.
Health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr vowed the new guidelines would “revolutionize” US eating habits and “make America healthy again” -- the catchphrase of the MAHA movement that’s perhaps best known for vaccine resistance.
Kennedy has long railed against the typical American diet and the food industry, saying the country is in a “health emergency” that has resulted in chronic disease including among children.
The new recommendations -- the federal government must release them every five years -- strongly discourage sugars, saying children should avoid added sweeteners until age 10, and that sugar-sweetened beverages are anathema to good health.
Americans are encouraged to cut back on refined carbohydrates like white bread or flour tortillas, and prioritize whole foods like vegetables and fruits over packaged or prepared meals, which often include significant added sugar and salt.
Nestle told AFP discouraging highly processed foods was a “very strong recommendation,” adding “I heartily support it.”
Federal data shows that ultra-processed foods -- including packaged sweetened baked goods, savory snacks and soda -- account for about 55 percent of calories in the average American diet.
But Nestle was also among the experts who said that positive came with murkier advice when it comes to meat and fat, calling the new guidance a win for the meat and dairy industries.
While the most recent iteration of US guidelines endorsed “lean meats” along with a variety of other plant-based proteins, seafood, and eggs, the new document includes red meat among the various types of protein to consume.
Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in a statement called the emphasis on animal protein, full-fat dairy and butter “harmful,” adding that it “undermines...science-based advice.”
Americans should eat 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, according to the new guidelines. Previous recommendations had said around 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight would suffice for most people.
Kennedy for months has emphasized he would end the “war” on saturated fats, which in high amounts are known to increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
But the administration did not change the previous recommendation that limits daily calories stemming from saturated fats at 10 percent.
The US food pyramid of the 1990s lumped all types of fat together and urged avoidance.
Experts since then have acknowledged that some types of fats -- like those found in olive oil, avocados and nuts -- are important components of a healthy diet.
The new guidelines include that advice, yet alongside olive oil the recommendations say cooking with butter or beef tallow -- the latter has particular hold on MAHA influencers -- are good options.
Cooking with saturated fats and routinely consuming red meat could easily put many people over the 10 percent saturated fat threshold, Nestle said.
She also said the new recommendations were too vague on alcohol -- the administration simply said “consume less.”
Nestle questioned how many people would be able to follow the guidance, given soaring food costs.
And ultimately, the nutritionist said the dietary guidelines carry less weight within the wider political context.
Within his first year Kennedy has worked ardently to sow confusion over vaccination especially among children, as President Donald Trump gives sweeping medical advice rife with misinformation.
“Eating real food is not going to make American healthy again in the face of a public health system that is completely dysfunctional at this point,” said Nestle.
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