Understanding the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

11 hours ago
7 min read

The new 2025-2030 dietary guidelines for Americans (DGA) were released on January 7, 2026, by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA). The guidelines are released every five years to update the nutrition recommendations based on the latest science and new understandings. Today, we are delving into the most recent changes and our take on which recommendations to follow more closely.

Previously, the 2020-2025 guidelines used the MyPlate visual. The visuals can serve different purposes; for example, we have built out an Apeiron Life MyPlate to help you visualize your meals. The 2026 visual has reverted back to the 1992/2005 pyramid and inverted it (as above).

Protein

The new DGA guidelines explicitly recommend a protein intake of “1.2–1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (g/kg/bw) per day, adjusting as needed based on your individual caloric requirements”.

The previous guidelines did not state a recommendation within their main text for g/kg/bw. They focused on a range based on total calories, with protein intake of 10–35% per day (Appendix 1, page 130).

For example, a 2000-calorie daily plan would range from 50g to 175g of protein per day.

It also stated Daily Food Amounts in ounce equivalents, so a 2000-calorie diet would require 5.5oz/day of protein (page 33).

For most healthy adults, we recommend:

1.6g/kg of body weight if BMI is <30; but for BMI 30 or higher, use the weight as if your BMI was 30.

Red Meat

The new visual of the 2026 guidelines placed red meat at the top of the pyramid. This was a slight change from the 2020 guidelines, which did not emphasize red meat particularly and instead emphasized an array of proteins:

“Meats, Poultry, Eggs: Meats include beef, goat, lamb,

pork, and game meat (e.g., bison, moose, elk, deer). Poultry

includes chicken, Cornish hens, duck, game birds (e.g.,

ostrich, pheasant, and quail), goose, and turkey. Organ meats

include chitterlings, giblets, gizzard, liver, sweetbreads,

tongue, and tripe. Eggs include chicken eggs and other birds’

eggs. Meats and poultry should be lean or low-fat.

Seafood: Seafood examples that are lower in methylmercury

include: anchovy, black sea bass, catfish, clams, cod, crab,

crawfish, flounder, haddock, hake, herring, lobster, mullet,

oyster, perch, pollock, salmon, sardine, scallop, shrimp, sole,

squid, tilapia, freshwater trout, light tuna, and whiting.

Nuts, Seeds, Soy Products: Nuts and seeds include all nuts

(tree nuts and peanuts), nut butters, seeds (e.g., chia, flax,

pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower), and seed butters (e.g.,

sesame or tahini and sunflower). Soy includes tofu, tempeh,

and products made from soy flour, soy protein isolate, and

soy concentrate. Nuts should be unsalted.”

We still recommend you stick by the 2020 guidelines when sourcing your protein from an array of whole foods (tip to toe). And when it comes to red meat, focus on high-quality, grass-fed, grass-finished red meat, on occasion, and within a balanced eating pattern.

Also, take these guidelines with a bit of salt, since there have been concerns about ties, petitions, and a lack of transparency regarding bias and influence stemming from funding and lobbying by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association or similar groups (1,2,3). If you’re unsure about the right protein sources for your health, speak to your nutrition advisor, who will build a personalized approach for you.

Saturated Fat

Emphasizing the recommendation for red meat and full-fat dairy will likely increase saturated fat intake. However, the recommendations still state that intake should be at 10% of daily calories.

For example, that would be ~22 g saturated fat (200-calories worth) of a 2000-calorie eating plan.
- 1 tbsp butter ~7g saturated fat
- 6oz ribeye steak ~12g saturated fat

It’s also crucial to recognize that saturated fat affects cardiovascular biomarkers, especially LDL particles/ApoB, which have been shown to be problematic for some people. We therefore recommend you still ensure your saturated fat intake is within the 10% boundary, whether you choose to eat red meat or not.

And as with other foods, quality and combinations matter. Food combinations that contain a variety of nutrients (protein, fiber, etc) are absorbed and metabolized differently in the body than a food eaten in isolation. So although the recommendations have relaxed on full-fat dairy and red meat, still ensure you’re eating them with a balanced mindset of protein, fat, and carbs together.

Seed Oils and Processed Foods

It’s not the item but the way in which it’s prepared when it comes to fats and oils. Anything deep fried, whether it’s beef tallow or seed oils, is not a food you should be consuming regularly (if at all).

As your primary fat sources, aim to consume cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado, and omega-3–rich fish. To learn more about oils and fats, check out these posts:

We all need fat; it is vital for transporting fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), supporting cell growth, and aiding hormone production, among many other essential functions. High-quality, well-sourced fats are essential to your health.

Whole Grains

Grains have been placed at the bottom of the pyramid, but an emphasis is also made to prioritize fiber-rich whole grains. This is a step away from the previous guidelines that stated “make half your grains, whole grains,” at 6oz per day (Whole Grains ≥ 3 oz, Refined Grains < 3 oz).

The new DGA states Whole Grains servings should be: 2–4 servings, with the caveat to reference their Daily Servings supplementary sheet to determine your specific needs. A serving example being: ½ cup cooked oats, brown rice, barley, quinoa, or buckwheat; 1 slice bread; 1 tortilla.

Overall, this is a step in the right direction, as the American diet severely lacks fiber, which is carried by items such as whole grains. By reducing or even eliminating processed refined grains from your meals, you may markedly support your cardiometabolic markers, blood glucose levels, gut microbial diversity, metabolic satiety, and other health factors.

Vegetables

Not much changed on this front, except for a slight increase in the recommended number of vegetable servings from 2 ½ to 3 per day. However, these are a minimum. You should always aim to consume as many non-starchy, colorful vegetables as possible throughout your day.

Juice

Both guidelines still allow for 100% fruit or vegetable juice in limited portions. We prefer they went a bit further and emphasize maintaining fiber (e.g. smoothies) and consuming juices with other foods to prevent blood glucose spikes.

Added Sugar

One of the biggest changes is the amount of added sugar allowed. Now, no amount of added sugar is considered acceptable. And no single meal should contain more than 10g of added sugar. That’s a big change!

Initially, it was less than 10% of calories from added sugars (~50g).

Non-nutritive and low-calorie sweeteners have also been limited (e.g., aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, xylitol, and acesulfame K). Overall, there has been a call to action against highly processed food-like items, such as sweeteners, as research is beginning to show they may have a more negative impact than we realize. Our gut microbiome, chemical hormone signals, and glucose response are a delicate system that food-like substances may be interrupting. Therefore, in your daily eating pattern, stick as closely as possible to whole, real foods with minimal processing.

Ultra-processed foods

The new DGA takes a much stricter stance on ultra-processed foods, which is great in theory, as research shows that highly processed foods have a negative impact on health.

However, there’s little point in stating these ideas if there’s limited ability to implement them, whether due to an inadequate food environment or financial constraints. These food-like items are convenient and cheap. Plus, they are chemically shown to be addictive and engineered to be over-consumed. This culminates in a society that wants to change but has no ability to do so.

The point of action must begin at the government level, with the regulation of these businesses that cause this harm. So, the DGA is a great place to start raising awareness of the harm these foods can cause.

Chemical additives, packaging materials, inflammatory compounds, and many other factors are more prevalent in these foods. Therefore, your body can handle it every once in a while (think monthly, not even weekly) and clear the onslaught of chemicals and inflammatory compounds, but for the most part, avoiding these foods as much as possible is crucial.

Alcohol

This one was quite a controversial change as the DGA went from a firm stance in 2020 of:

“Adults of legal drinking age can choose not to drink, or to drink in moderation by limiting intake to 2 drinks or less in a day for men and 1 drink or less in a day for women, when alcohol is consumed.”

To a vague comment in 2025: “Consume less alcohol for better overall health.” Their explanation was that it is a “social lubricant” and therefore allows people to bond.

Alcohol is complex, but it is nutritionally void of value and actively harmful to health. Therefore, the DGA should absolutely have a hard stance on it, and then allow people to make their choices with full knowledge of their actions. The DGA is meant to be the latest scientific-research on nutritional items. Alcohol is not a nutritional item, even if it is socially complex. We talk about this in our three-part deep dive alcohol series:

In summary, the new DGA guidelines closely resemble the 2020 guidelines, though they exhibit a more assertive position in certain areas while adopting a more flexible stance in others. Ultimately, being informed about guidelines can serve as a helpful framework, but a personal informed approach to nutrition is always best.

Resources and further reading