Overview
- The Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments replaced MyPlate with an inverted food pyramid that emphasizes protein, full-fat dairy and healthy fats alongside fruits and vegetables, with whole grains de-emphasized.
- The guidance promotes protein at every meal and raises daily targets to about 1.2–1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight, up from the previous 0.8 g/kg recommendation.
- The document explicitly urges limiting highly processed foods and added sugars, includes meal-level advice such as capping added sugar at 10 grams per meal, and drops specific daily alcohol limits in favor of advising less drinking.
- While keeping saturated fat below 10% of calories, the guidelines newly allow options like butter or beef tallow and feature messaging such as ending the “war on saturated fats,” drawing sharp reactions from health experts.
- Officials said the changes will guide standards for school lunches, SNAP and military meals, as medical groups split over the update and critics question departures from the 2024 advisory panel’s recommendations and the advisory process.