Americans are being urged to rethink the way they eat, as sweeping new federal dietary guidelines were unveiled on January 7, 2026 by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. This historic reset—described by Kennedy as the most significant overhaul in decades—places real food, protein, and healthy fats squarely at the center of U.S. nutrition policy, while calling for a dramatic reduction in highly processed foods.
At a White House press conference, Kennedy declared, “These new guidelines will revolutionize our nation's food culture and make America healthier again.” Flanked by Rollins and other health officials, he introduced an updated food pyramid that visually prioritizes vegetables, proteins like red meat and eggs, cheese, and healthy fats such as olive oil and butter, with whole grains now forming the base of the pyramid. The visual overhaul is more than symbolic: it reflects a fundamental shift in federal thinking about what constitutes a healthy diet.
The new guidelines, updated every five years, are the backbone of federal food policy. They influence what’s served in school cafeterias, on military bases, and in food aid programs for mothers and infants. According to NPR, Kennedy and Rollins wrote that more than 70% of American adults are overweight or obese, attributing this crisis to a national diet “reliant on highly processed foods and coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.”
For the first time, the government is formally recommending that Americans cut down on ultra-processed foods. The guidelines explicitly warn against “packaged, prepared, ready-to-eat, or other foods that are salty or sweet,” as well as sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, fruit drinks, and energy drinks. Parents are advised to avoid all added sugars and artificial sweeteners for children under four years old, and the guidelines recommend no amount of added sugar for children under ten. “No amount of added sugars or non-nutritive sweeteners is part of a healthy diet,” the guidelines state, a stance that has drawn both praise and criticism from industry groups.
The new recommendations also call for Americans to “limit alcoholic beverages,” a departure from previous guidelines that specified daily limits for men and women. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, commented at the press conference, “There was never good data to support the previously recommended level of alcohol consumption.” He added, “In the best-case scenario, I don't think you should drink alcohol, but it does allow people an excuse to bond and socialize.”
One of the most controversial aspects of the new guidelines is the administration’s stance on saturated fats. Kennedy proclaimed, “We are ending the war on saturated fats,” arguing that protein and healthy fats “were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines.” The document encourages Americans to prioritize oils with essential fatty acids like olive oil, but also includes butter and beef tallow as acceptable options. Still, the guidelines maintain the long-held recommendation that saturated fat should not exceed 10% of daily calories—a point of contention for some nutrition experts.
“I'm very disappointed in the new pyramid that features red meat and saturated fat sources at the very top, as if that's something to prioritize. It does go against decades and decades of evidence and research,” said Christopher Gardner, a nutrition expert at Stanford University and a member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, as reported by NPR. Both the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics point to evidence linking excess saturated fat to heart disease. The AHA, while welcoming the new emphasis on fruits and vegetables and the call to limit highly processed foods and added sugars, continues to encourage Americans to prioritize plant-based proteins, seafood, and lean meats, and to limit high-fat animal products such as red meat, butter, lard, and tallow.
Despite the criticism, some experts see merit in the new approach. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, told NPR, “Both low-fat and whole-fat dairy versions of milk, cheese, and yogurt have been linked to lower cardiovascular risk. What's quite interesting is that the fat content doesn't seem to make a big difference.” He also praised the guidelines’ focus on reducing highly processed foods, saying, “Highly processed foods are clearly harmful for a range of diseases, so to have the U.S. government recommend that a wide class of foods be eaten less because of their processing is a big deal and I think a very positive move for public health.”
The guidelines emphasize a diet rich in “high-quality, nutrient-dense” proteins at every meal. These include red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and, for those who prefer plant-based options, beans, peas, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and soy. According to the official HHS press release, the guidelines are intended to “improve Americans’ health by focusing on nutrition policy reform.”
Reactions from the food and beverage industry have been mixed. The Consumer Brands Association, representing major food companies like Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz, expressed a willingness to work with the administration while noting that consumers still “seek a diverse selection of foods.” The American Beverage Association, however, criticized the recommendations to limit both added sugar and other sweeteners. “Americans deserve pragmatic advice they can use in daily life. Guidance that discourages sugar but dismisses safe, effective no sugar options is impractical and inherently contradictory,” spokesperson William Dermody said in a statement to Axios.
Meanwhile, advocacy groups and influencers aligned with Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda have welcomed the changes. Vani Hari, known as the “Food Babe,” called the new guidelines “a dream come true,” telling Axios, “We put our full support in for Secretary Kennedy because he told the truth for the first time about the American food system ... and he is following through with his promise.”
It’s worth noting that while the guidelines have shifted to embrace more protein and healthy fats, they continue to recommend moderation and balance—echoing a longstanding body of nutritional science. A 2024 panel of nutrition experts advised HHS and USDA to encourage Americans to eat less saturated fat and meat, and to be cautious about ultra-processed foods. The new guidelines blend these expert recommendations with Kennedy’s own priorities, resulting in a policy that is both a break from and a continuation of past approaches.
As the updated guidelines begin to shape federal food programs, school lunches, and the choices Americans make at the dinner table, the nation is set for a new chapter in its ongoing debate over nutrition. Whether these changes will lead to measurable improvements in public health remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the conversation around what Americans eat has never been more front and center.
