01/07/2026
The New US Dietary Guidelines form a Certified Nutritional Practitioners Perspective
Are they an improvement? Heck yes.
Are they still confusing to the average American and missing some big gaps? Also, yes.
So here’s what I love:
- an increased focus on single-ingredient real Whole Foods
- an emphasis on increased protein consumption from (0.8g per kg of body weight to 1.2-1.6g per kg of body weight). This is 🤸!
-no change to saturated fat recommendations; keeping them at 10% or less of total calories
- Olive oil, nuts and seeds as top recommendation for healthy fats
-Finally, recommendations around reducing highly-processed foods
What I am not so sure of:
- the focus on dairy as a fat source. Dairy is a great source of calcium and some forms of dairy are excellent sources of quality protein but having an image of a hunk of cheese at the top of the pyramid (next to chicken in importance) can be confusing.
- our current food system relies on unhealthy and often unethical factory farming for both dairy and meat. We missed an opportunity to discuss quality (grass-fed, pasture-raised) over quantity. Eating more factory-farmed meat is not great for our bodies or our environment. I understand this costs money but if we are truly committed to overhauling our food system this needs to be a major part.
- the confusing pictures. If anyone can tell me what is in the white bowl with something red on top, I would appreciate it.
- equating all grains as equal and therefore bad. Active and growing bodies need all nutrients including carbohydrates. A simple ingredient loaf of sourdough or plain rice can be a beneficial form of energy when balanced with a high protein and nutrient-rich diet.
-nutrition requires nuance and I am not sure this is presented
- not sure if this is forthcoming, but I no longer see recommendations for vitamin B12 and vitamin D supplementation for infants or those on a vegan diets. These are both essential.
- the messenger 😉
So what do you think? Let’s chat.
Planning to pop on stories tomorrow to dig deeper and answer all your questions, so fire away in the comments below.