What do the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans mean for you?

A new pyramid: How did we get here?

The first thing you may notice is the new food pyramid. Many of us grew up with the original 1992 U.S. Department of Agriculture food pyramid, which emphasized large amounts of grains at the wide base, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat/protein in the middle, and fats and sweets at the top.

The intention of the pyramid model is to make it easy for people to recognize which foods they should eat more of – the wide base – and which they should consume in more limited quantities – the narrow top.

Later, this evolved into MyPlate, which showed what balanced portions might look like — half a plate filled with fruits and vegetables, with the other half split between grains and protein.

The new visual guidance looks a bit more abstract and retro in style. It’s an upside-down pyramid with proteins, dairy, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables now making up the broad section with whole grains at the narrow base. There is no “perfect” visual for how to eat. These tools are meant to guide choices, not dictate every single meal.

Protein: Important, with context

Protein powers our body. It is the primary building block for our body’s cells, muscles, bones, and tissues. Protein also helps maintain essential bodily functions, support metabolism, and control hunger.

One of the biggest changes in the new guidelines is stronger emphasis on protein, including adding a specific goal for how much protein a person should consume: 1.2-1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. That’s almost double the maximum recommended protein intake we’ve given patients over the years.

Following the 2025 guidelines, a 150-pound person would need 81-104 grams of protein a day. Here’s the protein range the average person would need daily, broken down by age and gender:

• Teen males: 78-104 grams
• Adult males: 84-112 grams
• Teen and adult females: 69-92 grams
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women: 105-140 grams

That’s a lot of protein! It can sometimes be a difficult goal to achieve. Getting extra protein can be helpful for older adults to maintain muscle mass, for people trying to gain muscle and lose fat, and for people whose medications suppress their appetite. But more is not always better. People with chronic kidney disease, for example, may need lower targets.

It’s also important to consider where the protein comes from. While animal proteins such as poultry, eggs, seafood, and lean meats can fit into a healthy diet, plant-based proteins – such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and soy – offer additional benefits such as fiber and are linked to lower rates of chronic disease.

Research suggests that an additional 3% of energy from plant proteins a day was associated with a 5% lower risk of death from all causes. So, replacing some foods that are high in animal protein with plant protein could help you live longer.

Protein supplements, such as bars and shakes, aren’t specifically addressed in the guidelines. While whole foods are preferred, people with special nutritional needs may benefit from taking protein supplements. Talk with your primary care provider or a dietitian to understand your specific nutritional needs.

Dairy: Full-fat milk makes a comeback, with limitations

The new guidelines now recommend whole milk and full-fat dairy products that don’t contain added sugars. Previous recommendations favored low-fat or fat-free options.

Dairy provides important nutrients such as calcium and protein. It’s also calorie dense. Fat contains more than twice the calories per gram compared with protein or carbohydrates, so portion awareness is key when consuming full-fat dairy.

It’s also worth remembering that non-dairy foods like leafy greens such as broccoli and kale, nuts and seeds, and fortified alternatives also contain calcium.

I appreciate that the guidelines now include fermented foods to support gut health. Options include yogurt and kefir from the dairy aisle but also sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, and tempeh. However, some of these options contain a lot of sodium. People who follow a low-sodium diet because of hypertension, heart failure, or kidney disease should talk with a doctor or dietitian about safe fermented food options.

Fruits and vegetables: Still the foundation

Dietary fats: Choose carefully

Saturated fat raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, which is strongly linked to heart disease, the leading cause of death for both men and women.

The new guidelines continue to recommend that less than 10% of total daily calories should be coming from saturated fats. This means that people with a 1,500-calorie daily goal would want to keep their saturated fat intake to less than 17 grams. Here is how that might look in real life:

• One tablespoon of butter has about 7 grams of saturated fat
• An ounce of cheddar cheese has about 6 grams
• An 8-ounce steak can contain 20 grams or more

While butter and beef tallow are included in the guidelines as acceptable options, these can add up quickly against your recommended amount of daily saturated fat. This doesn’t mean you need to eliminate them entirely, but they shouldn’t be primary fat sources in your diet. Healthier options include:

• Olive oil
• Nuts and seeds
• Avocados
• Fatty fish such as salmon

Related: Healthy school lunches? A culinary medicine expert prescribes fresh, tasty strategies

Grains: Go for whole

The new guidelines encourage significantly reducing refined grains such as white bread, crackers, and pastries while emphasizing whole grains. The American diet is heavily grain focused, so it might not be realistic to eliminate refined grains. However, most Americans don’t get their recommended 25 grams of fiber for women and 38 grams for men daily from food, so choosing whole grains when possible is a meaningful step.

A helpful tip: Ignore the front of the food package and look at the nutrition label. Whole grains contain more fiber, which supports gut health, improves blood sugar control, and lowers cholesterol.

Highly processed foods and added sugars

“Highly processed” and “ultra-processed” foods are often used terms these days, but they don’t have a single agreed-upon definition. We used to just call this category “junk food.”

But processing food doesn’t necessarily make it bad. For example, pasteurization is a type of processing that improves the safety of many foods. What matters most is that many ultra-processed foods are engineered to be high in sugar, salt, and fat – think cookies, cakes, chips –making them easy to overeat and low in nutritional value.

Added sugars also get a stronger warning in the new dietary guidelines. No amount is considered beneficial for health. When reading nutrition labels, watch for:

• Forms of the word “sugar”
• Words ending in “-ose,” such as sucrose, dextrose, and glucose
• Syrups, such as corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and rice syrup

Water is still the best beverage. Unsweetened tea or coffee can be good options, too. Diet sodas are generally preferable to sugary options but shouldn’t replace water.

Who should follow these guidelines?

Tucked at the end of the 2025 report is an important reminder: These guidelines are not one-size-fits-all. People with chronic diseases often need personalized nutrition plans. The same is true for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, children, older adults, athletes, and those whose medications affect appetite or nutrient absorption. Cultural food traditions, religious practices, food allergies, and personal preference also matter.

Healthy eating does not have to look the same in every household or on every plate. For the best outcomes, work with a registered dietitian or a doctor to tailor the broad recommendations into a realistic, safe, and sustainable plan for you.

Most importantly, please be kind to yourself. Eating real food sounds simple, but it doesn’t always account for time, money, access, and cooking skills. Give yourself grace and flexibility:

• If you can add more vegetables, fresh or frozen, that’s a win.
• If you can swap in whole grains sometimes, that’s progress.
• If you can drink more water and less soda, that counts.

Nutrition is not about being perfect. It’s about small, sustainable changes over time. Don’t feel bad if you can’t do it all. You’re human. And when it comes to food and health, doing your best is what counts.